New Life
by Alex Ultra
Summary: A darkness is coming, and the world is ready to feel it. When everything unfolds, it will be up to everyone to do their part, and confront the darkness. And when leaving the ordinary, the best survive in a world of confusion ready to crash.
1. Who Are You?

I do not own Ranma 1/2. Although I do own the new character I'm about to introduce.  
  
Now, on with the advanced fiction! And just for those who care, this is in first person with some inserts from other areas wherever I find it relevant to the story. Okay? ^.^  
  
Type: 1st person Character opening name: David ***** Dilas  
  
(Edited first chapter for the complainers.) I'm not quite as self-defeating as this guy, I made his attitude first, then his history. If you want to know the history, leave a review and I'll post it as a part of the next available chapter.  
  
~~~~~~*** WHO ARE YOU? ***~~~~~~  
  
"Are you done honey?"  
  
"Yeah, mom."  
  
"Well then, put your plate in the sink, okay?" That's my mom.  
  
"Uh, huh." Plate in sink, make annoying klacky noise.  
  
Seems like a lot of things are annoying anymore. Especially those things that are the same from day to day.  
  
I walk through the house, barely aware that I'm even there. What's there to be aware of? I've already seen it all. It's sad when your entire life is just one big rerun you can't get out of.  
  
Practically falling into my bed, I turned to the side, where a conveniently placed remote was within my grasp. Hitting the power button, I changed it to the appropriate channel. InuYasha was on, and I enjoyed it.  
  
What else was there to do? My homework was done, being so simple that I could get it done in school. I never really needed to do chores, they were always done, I never really thought about it.  
  
So, for the next two hours, I watched Anime. Which happened to be my favorite activity.  
  
~~ Skipping ahead a while ~~  
  
Lying in bed, I just couldn't seem to get to sleep. I felt... I don't know. It just seemed stuffy, and I needed to get out and get a breath of fresh air.  
  
Tip-toeing upstairs I slipped my sandals on, telling myself I was just going to go look at the stars for a while. Maybe they would help me feel like sleeping.  
  
Quickly opening the door, so as to make the squeak as short as possible, I stepped outside.  
  
Being in jean shorts, short sleeves, and sandals, the 45 degrees outside gave me goose bumps pretty quickly.  
  
With a frown, I did the usual, and decided it wasn't worth the trip back to my room to get my jacket, and decided to just be cold.  
  
'Well, I guess there is a heater in the tree house.' Making another quick decision, I went to my old tree house. And guess where that was?  
  
Yup, it was in the air, on stilts because we didn't have any trees, and only about four feet off the ground because it was first put up when I was three. Fortunately, it was fairly well built so I could still get in and sit around. And whatever.  
  
Fumbling around with numb fingers, I finally found the lighter for the heat lamp. I switched it on, and decided to look out the window while I waited.  
  
Man, I just love clear nights. Looking up at the stars, it always makes me feel like... maybe there's something else? Like if I looked hard enough, I could find something.  
  
And looking at it all, the multitudes of stars reminds me, that even this world... is incredibly small. And that just about anything could be out there.  
  
I'm not sure why, but even knowing what they were, just stars, seeing them there, always seemed to make me forget it all.  
  
It was still warming, so to pass the time while I waited, I thought I might revive an old habit.  
  
"Star light, star bright, one of the stars I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish, I wish tonight." Wow, that's corny isn't it?  
  
I thought about it for a moment, another habit rearing its ugly head. I always want to be specific, and I have to sound like I know what I'm talking about. "I wish... I wish..."  
  
Careful in selecting the right words, I went on. (I take forever, don't I? I guess I don't think well cold...?) "Alright, I got it. I wish that my life was more exciting. More spontaneous. I wish for things, and people, to change every once in a while! I wish for my life to be..." Those darn words again! "... different from THIS!"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Surprised, I almost jumped out of my place. I turned around and in the dim light (and I mean DIM!) I saw what looked like a kid. 'Well, where did he come from?'  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You should know, you WERE just speaking to me, weren't you?" His voice was not that of a kid, and it held a calm. One I couldn't seem to muster because of the cold.  
  
I'm sure the look I gave him was a perfect Kodak moment. "Um, no. I was wishing on a star."  
  
"So you WERE speaking to me!"  
  
"... Huh?"  
  
"Yes, I get that reaction a lot."  
  
I was still confused speechless. "Okay, let me explain."  
  
With a short bow, he introduced himself. "I am the spirit of the wandering star. I grant wishes."  
  
"Wishes?"  
  
"Yes, but only one per customer."  
  
"So... you're here to grant my wish?"  
  
"Well, yes. But only if you're truly sincere about it. If you think that you'll back out, then I'll leave now and you won't remember ever having this meeting."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, yours is... well, it's well worded, but very vague. I mean, different from this?" I chuckled.  
  
"Okay, so my brain doesn't work all that well cold."  
  
"I suppose. Though that also means that it came from the heart, because it isn't cold." His smile said something to me, and I wasn't (and still aren't) sure what it was. "Well, if you give me your word, then that's good enough for me. But, I can't assure what kind of life you'll receive."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, because... I can't change your life, because that would involve changing everyone else's lives. So instead, you'll be given a new one, and with such a vague premise as this, I can't be sure where you will end up."  
  
I thought about it for a while. And I do mean a while! By the time I had made my decision, it had finally warmed up a bit in the little wooden building and my brain had warmed up as well. (Like a car, it just needs to run for a while... hehe.) "Well, here are some things I've considered. One, with this wish, I could end up just about anywhere. And with you not even knowing, I don't know what I'm getting into." The man nodded. "Number two, however, is that if I say no, then memory of this will be taken from me. I don't think I would like that. And number three is this. I can't stand living this life anymore. I've been like the walking dead, there's a head on my shoulders, but nothing's in it. I can't relate to people for some reason or another, and those I can talk to feel the same way." I sighed, I hated to even think about the next part, but I felt I needed to say it. "I can't even talk to my mother and my dad's long gone. I can't stay here, and that's why I accept."  
  
The man looked at me for a moment. "You're right, your brain did need to warm up. So I take it you give me your word then?" I nodded. "Okay then. Now close your eyes, you might feel nauseous for a moment, but that's perfectly normal. Relax."  
  
Slowly at first, but coming more quickly with time, I got several feelings. First, like he said, I did feel nauseous. But that was just the first one, after that I felt dizzy, then it felt like the blood suddenly rushed to my head. And just as quickly as that came, the blood suddenly seemed to rush out of my head. Not only could I not see straight, it seemed like I couldn't see at all.  
  
My vision was tunneled and my sense of balance was quickly lost. As I tried to put my hand on a wall for balance, I found that I also felt numb. I couldn't tell if there even WAS a wall there.  
  
I couldn't feel texture, hot or cold, and my knees buckled underneath me.  
  
And then, it stopped. My head cleared, though it took a while more for my vision to do the same.  
  
It seemed like there was a ringing in my ears, and I just then noticed it, because it left and I found myself listening to the sounds of a city street!  
  
BREATHE!!! A burning in my lungs alerted me to the fact that I had been holding my breath.  
  
Blinking the dizziness away, I let my heart rate go back to normal. As it did, my vision cleared. And the first thing I noticed was that it was awfully BRIGHT!! I had to cover my eyes!  
  
Rubbing life into them, it seemed that something was definitely different.  
  
Taking a moment to let my eyes adjust, I slowly opened them. As I did, there was something else I noticed.  
  
As strange as it seemed, it looked like I was smack in the middle of an Anime! All the people had those big eyes Anime's are so famous for, and the busy city setting and spiky hairdo's also helped to tip me off. After all, where I had just come from, no one could really get their hair THAT bright a shade of blue! Let alone have it stick up perfectly in five directions!  
  
'Ookay. Time to try standing...' Thinking to myself, rather than sounding like an oddball, I coaxed myself back to life.  
  
'Well, it certainly IS different!' As I stood, I still couldn't really tell where I was. I did recognize the style; it looked an awful lot like InuYasha. But that was set in FEUDAL Japan. And besides that, was I really in Japan? If I asked, would anybody understand?  
  
'Okay, one thing at a time.' By virtue of a nagging feeling tugging at the back of my mind, I turned around and looked at the wall that I had apparently getting support from. The lower half was brick of some kind, and above that was glass. Tempered was my guess, seeing as how I could see two images when I looked at it.  
  
I could see what was inside, but I wasn't hungry (that means it was a food store, a bakery in fact). Instead, I focused on the image I could see reflected in it. I wanted to see what I looked like.  
  
'Hmmm... I don't really look like myself. I guess that's okay...' My eyes were also the same type as those of the people I saw on the street; at least I was pretty sure they were. Even though I could see most things, I felt like a camera with fog on the lens. Everything just seemed slightly out of focus. That and the double image didn't afford a good catch on what I really looked like.  
  
With a quick sigh, that also seemed Animeish, I started walking down the street, hoping maybe some movement would kick my eyes awake.  
  
Although I didn't exactly feel at home, I wasn't about to show that I didn't know where I was.  
  
As I walked, I also listened. From most people, I caught only glimpses of conversations, mostly teenagers swooning over each other, or giggling girls laughing about something or another. 'Well, I guess there must be a school nearby. What am I talking about? There's ALWAYS a school nearby!' I also came to the conclusion that school must have just gotten out, because the morning would see more adults mixed in. At least, that's how I saw it.  
  
I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, so I guess it's no real surprise that I had an encounter.  
  
As I stared more to the ground than watching where I was going, I noticed some movement right in front of me.  
  
Two pairs of gray shoes stopped right in front of me, and I was still trying to get my thoughts straight! 'Geeze, can't these guys bother me later?'  
  
It was the taller one on the left that spoke first. "Hey girly, where you goin'?"  
  
That woke me up right away. With a surprised feeling and a strange gut sense type thing (I don't really know how to say it...), I grabbed the guy's shirt and looked him in the eye, not angry, more confused. "What did you say?!?!?!?" I'm pretty sure it came out sounding panicked.  
  
The guy was totally dumbstruck... as was I. Not from my reaction, rather, it was from the sound of my voice! Letting go of his shirt, I put up one finger. "Hold that thought for ONE second!"  
  
With adrenaline in my system, I ran back to the last window I had passed, a few steps and I came to the recessed door I had just passed.  
  
My Anime eyes (one thing to get used to) were wide open, I could tell I didn't look anything like myself, but then I came to what the REST of me looked like!  
  
As I took it all in, I suddenly became more aware of the signals my skin was sending me. And it was then, as I stared dumbstruck at the reflection in the windowed door, that that annoying twitch under my left eye decided to come back.  
  
"Hehe... he he he.. heheha. Hehe! Eh, hehe, heh." I can't really explain why, but for some strange reason, I started laughing. Probably in disbelief. Somehow, it just seemed funny!  
  
Almost like a strange, laughing robot, I somehow ended up back in front of those guys that stopped me. Except this time, I had a goofy grin on my face and was laughing my head off. "Hehe, he heh, hey... hehe, he, uh, he... check it out. I'm a girl! Hehe heh.... Eh, hehe Hahaha! Uh... hehe heh... hehe he, he, hehe." Still laughing like I was about to explode, I decided to walk away, still lost somewhere in the corners of my own mind.  
  
~~  
  
"Hey! Wait a--!?" The second guy was stopped by the first.  
  
"No man, it ain't right to mess with people like that. Let's just... walk away quietly."  
  
Begrudgingly, the second guy followed the first as he walked off in the opposite direction.  
  
~~  
  
As I walked back to the bakery, I suppose I calmed down. But that image was still in my head. If it wasn't me, that picture was of a girl that I might have...! Honestly, in my old life, I would have ignored her completely. In my old life, I ignored EVERYONE completely.  
  
"Well, old man. I guess this works. But now what?"  
  
He had said that I wouldn't have to look far, so I did the only thing I could really think of. I went back to that bakery, where I had first landed. I figured that was as good a place as any to get started. But started what?  
  
~~  
  
"Oh well... let's see...." Standing just outside the bakery, I decided to take stock of what was around me.  
  
From somewhere close by, I could smell something interesting. I was pretty sure I recognized that smell!  
  
Looking around, my eyes laid on a small little place. It was called the 'Cat Cafe'. 'Well, I like cats!' Without really thinking too hard (it was starting to hurt, and besides, I found that I was now hungry) I started walking towards it. Being careful (the follower of rules I am) to use the crosswalks (there were no cars).  
  
"Um, hello?" I poked my head in, wondering if there was anyone there.  
  
A strange looking old hag came forward. "Groom? That you?"  
  
Looking at her, I was sure I was in the right place. "Um, I'm sorry. But who is Groom?"  
  
"Eh? Oh! You not groom! You customer? We make wonderful Ramen!"  
  
'So THAT'S what that smell was!' "Um, sorry, but do you have a restroom?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Of course, in the back, here, Shampoo will show you."  
  
"Shampoo?" A girl wearing a funny looking dress-type thing came out of what seemed like hiding.  
  
"Yes? Great-Grandmother?"  
  
"Take this girl to the restrooms, go now, I will tend to the desk."  
  
"Yes, Great-Grandmother. You come with?"  
  
"Um, sure." I followed the girl named after a kind of hair soap to the back.  
  
"Here is!" She opened the door for me, and I thanked her as I went in.  
  
'Finally, maybe now I can check a few things.'  
  
In the next five minutes, I had done three things. I had found that, one; I had exactly eleven dollars and sixty-five cents on me. What with forgetting to put it away before going to bed (one of the few times something good came from being forgetful). Problem was that it was in American money. 'Oh well, I might be able to do something with it.' Two, I was, indeed, a girl. 'Yeesh. Oh well, at least it's different...' And three, I was very glad I was in a restroom! 'That's what I get for drinking a half gallon of water before bed!'  
  
Upon finishing, I heard voices out front. I couldn't pick out a whole lot, but one of the first words I did hear was; "GROOM!!" and after that came "Ghoul!" Upon hearing what I assumed to be nicknames, I wondered what the heck was wrong with these people.  
  
Then I smiled. 'Yep, I'm in the right place all right!'  
  
Gathering my courage (and my slightly too large clothes, I was SO glad I still had my belt) I went back out front.  
  
"So, you DO have some customers, eh Ghoul?" Some girl was yelling at the old lady. I still didn't know her name, so I instead tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Eh? Yes, can I help you?"  
  
"Um, yes. Do you take American Money?"  
  
"Oh yes, can't get along for long without it around here. Is that all you have?" I nodded.  
  
"Um, yeah, sorry..."  
  
"Oh, it's no problem! Shampoo! Can you tend to our guest here?" The old lady turned back around, to find Shampoo seeming to hug the life out of the girl that was just speaking a minute ago.  
  
"Ack! Shampoo! L-let go please!"  
  
"Shampoo!! Did you hear me!?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yes Great-Grandmother!" The strange girl immediately bounded behind the counter (and I do mean BOUNDED) and looked at me expectedly. "Can I help?" She seemed to have a semi-ignorant smile on her face.  
  
And I was surprised as heck. "Uh... huh. Um, this place has Ramen?" I almost couldn't form the words, but the girl nodded anyway. "Okay... what flavors do you have?"  
  
She smiled a bit more. 'Is that possible?' "Yes! We have many flavors! You want menu?"  
  
I was still slightly dumbstruck. I could tell I had found the right place. If the names hadn't tipped me off, their strange character quirks told me these people were trouble. And just what I was looking for. "Uh, yeah. I guess that works. Sure."  
  
"Okay!" She smiled again, and handed me a menu. Again, my only thought was 'How the heck can she smile even MORE!?!?"  
  
I took the menu and looked over the selections. It took me only a few seconds to find what I wanted. My favorite flavor had always been beef. So I looked at the prices, almost surprised to find it in both Yen AND American dollars!  
  
It was right then that I noticed something else. The writing. 'Hey, wait a second... This isn't English... It's JAPANESE!!!' "I'M READING JAPANESE!!!"  
  
The girl from before, the one called groom, turned her attention on me. "And this is surprising... why?"  
  
"Geeze! I said that out loud!?!?"  
  
She smiled and spoke in an almost teasing way. "Yeah! And you said it in Japanese too!"  
  
I was dumbstruck! Less than an hour ago I didn't even know enough Japanese to ask where the bathroom was! "Shoot! Less than an hour ago, I didn't even know enough Japanese to ask where the bathroom was!!!"  
  
I had never really been one to think out loud... but apparently I was. And that girl was quick to pick up on it. "What do you mean? You seem to be doing pretty well to me."  
  
I was royally confused now. And I dealt with it by being speechless for a minute or so. After which, I turned back to the girl behind the counter. "Um, beef please... hard cooked. I don't like that soft stuff." I pulled some money from my pocket and practically slammed a little more than the exact change on the counter. Thirty-five cents was the price, but I just put about fifty or so. In case there was tax or something stupid like that.  
  
After a moment, she counted it out. "Great-Grandmother! How much is this?"  
  
"Oh... do you want your change?"  
  
Smiling a strained smile, I shook my head no. "Eh, keep the change?" Half stiff-kneed, I walked to a table and sat, my American habit of having a seat fooling me into falling on my butt.  
  
The odd girl called groom (is there something wrong with that?) seemed to not know what to think about me for a second or so, and then decided to wave it off and turned to... Ghoul. "Well, actually, I came here to tell you that some of us at the dojo were thinking about taking a vacation. The principal at our school gave each student passes to get a bunch of people to Hawaii. There's too many in the dojo already, and we've got a few extras." She pulled some airplane tickets out of a pocket on her clothes, which to me looked like a pair of pajamas.  
  
"..."  
  
"I was wondering if Shampoo'd like to come?"  
  
"OH RANMA! YOU WILL TAKE SHAMPOO ON DATE WITH YOU!?" In less than a second, the strange girl from behind the counter was already in a begging stance in front of the other strange girl, hopping in the air over and over. "Will be just you and me?"  
  
'What's wrong with these people? Is she a lesbo?'  
  
At that moment, the other girl, who was apparently named Ranma, walked over to a stove. "Well, actually, I've been asking everyone. Ukyo says she has to watch the shop so she can't come, and Akane has to come anyway. I'm not even gonna ask the others cause they really creep me out, and since everyone at the dojo's going, that leaves you." She picked up a pot of hot water and... Poured it on herself!?!?  
  
'GAAAHH!! SHE'S A BOY!!!' I was struck speechless when that Ranma girl turned into a boy before my very eyes!!!  
  
I was so shocked that I interrupted their conversation to go and poke his chest to make sure it was real. "Wow! It's real! How did you do that!?" I looked her... um, him in the eye, and found that he was now at eye level with me!  
  
"Huh? Um, I'm cursed..."  
  
"Cursed?"  
  
"You really aren't from around here, are you?" I shook my head no.  
  
"No, in fact just a little bit ago... I was in a tree house and speaking English. Oh, AND I was a boy too..." Without really even moving, I thought about that statement for a moment. "Wow! That sounds really stupid!"  
  
"Eh! When you live around here, weird stuff seems to happen a lot." He grunted. "And somehow, I ALWAYS get mixed up in it!"  
  
I looked at him for a moment... not really thinking anything. Then, surprising even myself, I said something. "PERFECT!!! YOU'RE JUST THE PERSON I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!! YEAH!!" Honestly, I didn't even think about how uncharacteristic that was for me...  
  
Shampoo didn't sound too happy though. "Um, excuse me. Your Ramen is ready..."  
  
"Nevermind that, I'm not really all that hungry! Hey! Can you take me home!? I haven't really got any place to go, and if things are as interesting as you say, then you're JUST the person I'm supposed to find!!!"  
  
"Uh... huh?"  
  
I was so excited that I didn't even notice that Shampoo was right beside me. "Ranma MINE!!!"  
  
"Huh?" I turned to face her just before she hit me in the side and sent me into the wall. "Ow..." I pushed several boxes off of me that I had fallen into.  
  
"Wow! That was easy! Ranma! I go with you! Okay?"  
  
"Um, okay! Hey, are you okay? You didn't even block!"  
  
I was a bit hurt and frustrated. "That's because... I'm not a FIGHTER!! And what's your problem anyway!"  
  
"Ranma is mine! He is to be MY HUSBAND!!"  
  
"WHAT!? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!" Then I thought about the current circumstances. When I realized what was going on, I laughed, and I think I blushed too. (Something else I never normally do.) "Oh yeah... I forgot... I'm a girl. Hehe, look, I'm don't know what your relationship to this guy is, but I can tell you're the jealous type. Also, I don't want him, so as far as I'm concerned, you can have him."  
  
"Hey, don't I get a say?"  
  
"Groom, you shall marry Shampoo!"  
  
"Shut up ghoul!" The ghoul (who's name I STILL didn't know) stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "Heh, for someone over a hundred years old, you sure are immature!" The old lady simply looked away, that is until I shoved my face into hers.  
  
"Hey, what's your name anyway?"  
  
"Hey! Why do you care!?"  
  
"Because if I'm gonna be sticking around, I may as well know the names of these people!" I was holding my ground, well, standing anyway.  
  
"My name is Cologne. Are you happy?"  
  
"Yep!" Then I thought about that. (I seem to be thinking about a lot lately...) 'Wow, there's even more wrong with these people than I thought!' I didn't know it, but I was standing with fists and teary eyes.  
  
"Um, are you okay?" Ranma was looking me over as I was thinking about how life would NEVER be boring again!  
  
"YES! Now take me to see these other people you spoke of! Are any of them cursed?"  
  
"Huh? Um, okay?"  
  
"YAY!!!"  
  
~~~ Somewhere else ~~~  
  
"Hey Hanumiki, doesn't it seem kind of... odd how much these people's personality's change?"  
  
"Well, that's for adaptation. And most of what we see there is based on the original. Except for the language thing and a little bit of other things. That's the real person, simply better suited to the environment."  
  
"Well do you want me to keep an eye on her?" Bishibon was a bit downtrodden that his friend had used _that_ spell again.  
  
"If you would please?" Bishibon only sighed.  
  
"I'll keep an eye on them." Even though he didn't say _her_, Hanumiki knew that it was a yes.  
  
~~~~~~*** End of Chapter 1 ***~~~~~~  
  
I recently purchased some Ranma Manga and am now thoroughly obsessed with it. I bought it telling my brother that "I've heard this is the stuff obsessions are made of!"  
  
Hehe, I had no idea how right I was...  
  
Being kind of new, I can honestly say that my collection is FAR from complete. So if something doesn't seem complete, blame it on my funding, which is non-existent, which also happens to be the problem.  
  
Well, that's it for now. Do tell me what you think!  
  
Well, till later.  
  
Alex Ultra: Creator of Eternal Realm  
  
LATER 


	2. Day One At The Tendos

Well, Fanfiction.net is being a royal pain in the bottom, so I'm going to write this chapter now.  
  
Alex: Hey, how come you didn't tell me you were writing a new story?  
  
Alex Ultra: Because you're not in it...  
  
Alex: So?  
  
Alex Ultra: -_- You didn't need to be here, because it doesn't concern you.  
  
Alex: So?  
  
Alex Ultra: ... Um, yeah. Whatever...  
  
Alex: Hey, got any string cheese?  
  
Alex Ultra: No.  
  
Alex: /.\  
  
And now for the Reviewer Responses section. If there are any reviews for this story by the time I post this, I will respond to them here.  
  
anime_DUST: Wow! Not even half a day and this fic ALREADY has a review! That's like a RECORD for me! ^.^ And to answer your question, yes, I do like Ranma and Akane together. They seem like the only REAL couple in the entire thing! All the others are just hang-ons that really need to get a life... ^.^''' Some of them would be good going together (like Mousse and Shampoo) but Ranma only seems to really care about Akane, and Akane is just the oppressive caring type. I loved the part at the skating thing just after Ranma hit the wall! 'Fool! And just when it was getting good too!' (If you don't mind me quoting Ranma.) Hehe, as for the funny, this is my style, there is very much funniness and many serious. There be many fight scenes from time to time and some people get over things too quickly. Other time it seem like I go too fast, and others I take forever to say one thing. But I always try to inject either humor or something that will make even ME tear up as I write it! (WAAA!! My characters are so confused! If only I could do something to help them!)  
  
kensa: Thanks; I've always taken pride in quality. Hope you keep reading! ;P  
  
End Reviewer Responses.  
  
Okay, now I've just got to write the chapter, right?  
  
Alex: Yeah, hey, what's it about anyway?  
  
Alex Ultra: Eh, whatever it was my mind came up with. Honestly I don't know how it'll turn out till I write it down.  
  
Alex: -_- That's not what I meant.  
  
Alex Ultra: Then you'll have to read the first chapter, cause I'm not gonna write it again. \./  
  
Alex: (O.o)  
  
Oh, and this story has a lot going for it, but it's probably going to take forever to get where I want to. Which is okay, right? Yeah! More of the good stuff! Hahaha!!  
  
Now, to get on with it! ^.^ Wow, I'm hyper right now!  
  
~~~~~~*** DAY ONE AT THE TENDOS ***~~~~~~  
  
Well, Ranma apparently wasn't comfortable, but I was doing my best to keep up! Seriously!  
  
"...." Yet again, Ranma ended up waiting for me.  
  
"Huff, huff, hey... can't you... walk, like a normal person!?" He was squatting on the fence he was running on, watching me huff and puff my head off.  
  
"Nope, and you'll have to get used to it."  
  
I frowned at him. "You're a real pain, you know that?"  
  
His response was a smile. "You know, you're not the first girl to tell me that!" He chuckled. "Besides, we're almost there."  
  
"Thank god!" I was already clutching at a pain in my side.  
  
"Hello Ranma!"  
  
"Oh, hi Kasumi! What's up?"  
  
"Oh, we were running out of some things, so I went to the store." The tall, respectable looking girl looked me over. "Who's this?"  
  
"Her? Honestly, I have no idea, but she seems to be lost or something. I think it's amnesia."  
  
"I do NOT have amnesia!"  
  
Ranma suddenly jumped down and put on a curious look, as he looked me straight in the eye, making me slightly nervous. "Say, what IS your name anyway?"  
  
I calmed down a little, but I wasn't sure what to say. So, I tried an old ploy, I told the truth. "Um, well. Last I knew, my name was David. David R. Dilas." (A/N: Pronounced 'Dee-Loss'. Just in case you care.)  
  
"... You're serious aren't you?" I nodded, with a very unsure grin on my face.  
  
"Okay! Well then, you'll need a new name, won't you!?"  
  
"I think Nabiki might be able to help you with that one."  
  
I frowned. "You people are used to this, aren't you?" Kasumi only smiled and walked along.  
  
"So Ranma..."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"NOW YOU'RE WALKING!?!?" I was a bit angry... hehe.  
  
"Gaah! Um, yeah. Hey, it's not like it really matters! Besides..." He poked his index fingers together. "... It's safer this way."  
  
"What do you mean safer?" I was airing on the side of caution... one never knew with people like these.  
  
"Hehe, well, when Akane sees you, I just know she's gonna freak! And if it was just me, well..."  
  
"Akane likes to get jealous. It's so cute too!" Kasumi pitched in with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. I just know she yells a lot and hits me with stuff."  
  
"She also enjoys splashing you with water!"  
  
'Geeze, these people have something wrong with them...' I didn't realize that I was, yet again, holding my fists tightly and smiling that smile. The one with the teary eyes.  
  
~~  
  
"Hello?" Ranma was trying to get the girl's attention by waving his hand in front of her face. "Hello?!"  
  
"What is she doing?" Kasumi was looking at her from the side, wondering what the heck was wrong with this new girl.  
  
"I don't know..." With a deep breath, Ranma yelled right in her ear. "HEY!!! ARE YOU LISTENING!?!?"  
  
~~  
  
"AAAHHH!!! OW!! RANMA THAT HURT!!!"  
  
"Apparently yes..."  
  
Ranma was looking slightly annoyed. "What's up with you anyway?"  
  
Kasumi only giggled a little. "Oh what are you talking about? I think she'll fit in just fine!" I was dumbstruck.  
  
"...Huh? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Oh, nothing!" I didn't believe him for a second.  
  
"... So how much farther is it?" Not that I wasn't enjoying the rest.  
  
"We're almost there." Less than a minute later we were turning into a gate.  
  
'Seems pretty quiet... then again, Ranma isn't in there yet...'  
  
We went up to the door and Kasumi went right in. "We're home!"  
  
A strange man dressed in black spoke first. "Ah! Kasumi! I see you're back!"  
  
Ranma signaled me to go inside, and I followed him in.  
  
While I looked around, trying to get a grasp on my surroundings, Ranma spoke up. "Hey, where's Akane?"  
  
"I believe she's out in the dojo." A young girl that seemed to be pouring over some books looked up and saw me. "Oh, and who's this?"  
  
Ranma smiled nervously and replied. "Um, she says her name is David! Which reminds me, we need to think up a new name for her!"  
  
She looked at me and I suddenly felt nervous. "Um, how about Lila?"  
  
'Well that was fast.' "Um..."  
  
"Great! That's perfect! I KNEW you would be perfect for that!"  
  
"Yeah whatever." She went back to her book.  
  
"...okay..."  
  
"Come on Lila! We gotta find Akane!"  
  
"But I thought--!" I didn't have time to finish as I was dragged away.  
  
I soon found myself standing stupidly outside a strange building that seemed to have little more than some walls and a ceiling. Inside, I could hear as a strange, angry sounding girl yelling at Ranma. I couldn't catch the better part of the conversation, but I got the feeling that Ranma had done something to get her angry.  
  
After a minute or so it seemed to calm down and Ranma soon led a strange girl to the door to meet me, I assumed it was Akane. "Um, hello."  
  
Akane's expression grew angry rather quickly. Turning to Ranma, she seemed to scowl in a way that would make a ghost turn and run... or fly, or whatever. "And... WHO is THIS!?!?"  
  
"This is Lila! She, um, followed me home?"  
  
With the same sour expression, she seemed to be fighting to control her breathing for a second or so as she walked away. "Oh... is THAT it?" She grabbed a water hose. 'Oh boy.' "Get..." She sprayed him, and he immediately became a she. "OUT!!" Before Ranma even moved an inch she ran up to him... er, her and smacked her with a mallet (which I hadn't seen her carrying before) sending her flying through the air. Akane's venomous tone seemed somehow even more venomous than before.  
  
I watched as Ranma disappeared behind some trees. "Um, what was that for?"  
  
She smiled, seeming a bit pleased with herself. "I don't know exactly, but it sure made me feel better!!! HAHA!!!"  
  
I'm sure I could have caught flies with my jaw dropped like that. "And... um, sure, whatever."  
  
She then turned to me. "So what's YOUR story, huh? Did Ranma's father promise him to YOU too?"  
  
"What? What do you mean?" I thought about it for a second, while under her glare, then my face brightened as I caught her meaning. "OH YEAH! I get it! You're jealous! Well, like I told that weird girl from the ramen shop, I don't want him." I was smiling matter-of-factly. "I just saw him change from a girl and... um, honestly, I've never seen anything like that before!"  
  
"Huh?" Her expression said that she couldn't believe her ears for some odd reason. Does EVERYONE around here know about that!?!?  
  
"Oh, um, I'm kinda new here. And it turns out that he was just the person I was sent here for! I'm SURE of it!"  
  
"I thought you didn't want him?"  
  
"NO! I don't want him! But I do want to spend time around someone as interesting as that!" I moved to whisper to her. "And just between you and me... it seems that his is about as interesting a life as you can get!"  
  
"And who all have you met so far?" She was smiling a smile I wasn't sure I liked.  
  
"Um, there's the two weirdo's from the ramen shop, and then the people here. Why?"  
  
"HA! Let me tell you, it gets worse!"  
  
I'm sure I looked confused for a moment, then I smiled dopily for a moment. "YES!! I DID FIND THE RIGHT PERSON!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!"  
  
"Um, okay." Now it was her turn to be afraid and confused.  
  
From what seemed like a long way off, I just barely heard some shouting. "...hey! Akane! What the heCK WAS THAT FOR!!??"  
  
The shouting got louder as Ranma, now in girl form, and seeming to not even notice, hopped from building to building, landing in the grass just beside Akane.  
  
"Oh, hello Ranma! I like your friend!" Akane ignored the question as if it didn't matter. "She's cool!"  
  
I, however, was transfixed with how natural Ranma seemed in either form. "Wow! You're so natural!" I found myself searching her face for the boy that was there just a minute ago.  
  
She smiled. "Oh! Well you'll learn to forget about it and just go with it!"  
  
Akane seemed confused and slightly agitated at this statement. "What do you mean 'She WILL learn to forget about it?' She's already a girl!"  
  
I crossed my arms. "Not till a little more than an hour ago..."  
  
Akane was struck speechless. ".... Huh?"  
  
I felt I needed to elaborate. "Look, I was taken here magically to find... well, I'm pretty sure it was him. Before I left, I was a boy, and then I wake up to find out that the trip turned me into a girl. Hmm... I wonder why?" I thought about it for a moment (don't worry, I do that rather often). "Oh well, he said 'Anything could happen'."  
  
"And WHY are you here to find HIM!?!? Are you supposed to protect him or something?"  
  
"NO!! HAHA! NO! What a concept! But no, actually it's like this. See, my life was boring, and it was so boring I was about to pull my own head off. I came here to find that person with the most chaotic, exasperating, confusing, and incredibly disorderly life around! Someone who's always doing something or being chased without really knowing why. And then I basically latch onto them like glue! Hehe!" I said the last part with a self-satisfied smile.  
  
Ranma looked serious for a moment, as did Akane. "Yep, that's me alright."  
  
"Yep, that's him alright."  
  
I was standing there looking stupid for a moment until I came up with a thought. "But you know what?" They both looked at me with interest (it was almost creepy seeing that girl Ranma looking at me, where there was a boy just minutes before). "I need a job!" I'm sure they each had a large drop of sweat on the backs of their heads, out of my view. "And a place to stay... it seems like this place is too full though..."  
  
Akane perked her head up. "Oh, you can sleep with me in my room! I think we've got another spare cot or something around here somewhere. It'd be like a sleepover!!!"  
  
Ranma looked over at the other girl with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure about this Akane?"  
  
"Are you sure? I mean, we don't exactly know each other really well..." I wasn't exactly into the idea all that much.  
  
"EXACTLY! That's why we need to do a sleepover! Then I can get to know you better!" I'm sure that she was thinking up something, I just couldn't figure out what it was. But I figured I better not anger her.  
  
"Um, okay? Sure!" I tried to sound more confident than I sounded, which I'm pretty sure I failed at.  
  
Ranma simply rolled her eyes and went back inside, presumably to dry off.  
  
"So, um, Akane, do you practice Martial Arts?"  
  
"Well, yeah. But my sisters don't..."  
  
I smiled. "Could you teach me?" I got that same disbelieving look from a minute ago as an only response. Apparently, it was my turn to sweat drop....  
  
~~ Later on ~~  
  
Akane had tried to teach me some of the basics, but apparently even the basics were something I couldn't get the hang of.  
  
Here I had always thought I had good form, but I apparently had the grace of a cow in mud.  
  
"Okay, now just do what I do. Move from your center and don't worry about how your arm moves." She moved herself, and I do mean her whole self, and threw a punch.  
  
If it really took that much to make one single punch, then I was in for a lot of aerobic workouts. I had apparently been signed in as a student.  
  
Which was okay, it meant that the dojo would provide room and board as long as I would need it, but I still needed to get a job, with hopes of eventually being able to pay for myself.  
  
I tried the punch, doing as much of the same as I could. I still wasn't doing it right though.  
  
Akane let out a short sigh, and looked me over. "Well, maybe we can go on to meditation."  
  
"Okay, I'm pretty sure I can do that."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well, I picked up on it cause I really needed to get away from my life every once in a while. It feels good to just let your mind wander, y'know?"  
  
"Yeah, well, if you're sure you know meditation, then that's good enough. But let's try self-meditation. All you do is focus on your body and what it tells you, rather than simply letting your mind wander, okay?"  
  
I had a pretty good idea what she was talking about, and it seemed like a good idea too. "Okay, I guess."  
  
She sat down Indian style and I did the same. "Now you just focus on yourself, tune everything else out." I nodded my head silently and did as I was told, trying my best to keep everything out.  
  
I sat there for a long while, just paying attention to what I felt. Not telling it anything except to keep breathing.  
  
After a while, I came across the reason I couldn't seem to coordinate my movements like I used to. With the different build of being a girl, I seemed to have a different balance from before.  
  
While I was musing over why I hadn't noticed this before, I noticed something else. Although it was difficult to tell exactly what it was, I definitely could tell something was different from before. I may have gotten used to it with just walking around and all, or perhaps I was used to it more subconsciously, like how I was now speaking Japanese instead of English.  
  
I did feel a lot more comfortable in the clothes Akane had lent me, which was a bonus. But it almost kindof surprised me that they fit as well as they did, though I seemed to be built more like Ranma. The female version, of course.  
  
"Your mind is wandering, isn't it?"  
  
Akane interrupted my train of thought, and I opened my eyes to see an annoyed expression adorning her features. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so. But how'd you know?"  
  
"Your breathing was getting heavier." She stood up, and I started to follow her. "No, I'm just gonna see when supper's gonna be ready. You can stay here and keep this up, I'll come get you if it's done." I nodded and she walked away.  
  
'She seems a lot calmer when Ranma's not around...' I shrugged off the thought and went back to my meditating.  
  
I kept yawning the entire time, but I did my best to keep my attention on my body. Which is part of the reason I was yawning so much, it was already several hours past the normal time I went to sleep. By my estimate, it would be about three in the morning about now, but here the sun was just barely starting to go down.  
  
I noticed my thoughts were wandering again, and gently nudged them back to where they should be.  
  
I sat like that for a little while longer, not even noticing Akane coming back into the dojo building.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
I opened one eye and looked at her groggily. "Huh? Yeah, why?"  
  
"You're crying!"  
  
"I am?" Sure enough there were tears running down at least one side of my face. "Oh! Um, sorry, I get teary when I yawn too much."  
  
"Why are you tired?"  
  
"Because I should have been in bed three hours ago. Jet lag I guess..."  
  
"Without the jet." Akane smiled and I smiled back.  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"Well, Kasumi says supper's ready, so why don't you come on in?"  
  
I yawned again and tried to smile enthusiastically. "After you!"  
  
~~  
  
On the way to the table I managed to yawn five times, and sneeze once, although I have no idea where that came from.  
  
I tried to stay awake mentally for supper, if only so I could answer questions. I honestly can't remember what they served that night, but I'm pretty sure it didn't taste horrible.  
  
"So where do you come from?"  
  
"Kansas."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"It's a state... um, it's in the USA."  
  
"But you speak such perfect Japanese, you can't be from America!"  
  
"I'm puzzled about that too, just before I came here I was speaking English. About the only Japanese word I really knew was baka... oh, and onna I guess." If you're wondering why I'm not telling who's speaking, it's because I can't remember. I could barely think at all right then, let alone remember anything like that.  
  
"And you were a boy?"  
  
"Yeah, I [yyyyyaaaaawwwwwnnnnn] I uh, well, yeah."  
  
Kasumi added to what I couldn't think to say. "Well, what she had on confirmed that. Her clothes were made for a boy, and it was all definitely American. Even the money." Something kinda disturbed me about that statement, but I couldn't figure out what it was. And then I yawned and forgot that I had even thought about it.  
  
"Cool! Welcome to the club!"  
  
"What club?"  
  
"The one that now has three members! That I know of..."  
  
"And who would that be?"  
  
"Me, Lila, and that one guy... uh, Herb! Yeah, that's his name!"  
  
"Oh really, and what would the name of this club be?"  
  
"The club of boys turned into girls! Haha!"  
  
I was so tired; I couldn't even focus enough to come up with those questions on my own.  
  
"Ranma, I don't know if Lila really counts, you and Herb were cursed by that spring. So far it sounds like Lila's is a bit more permanent."  
  
"Hey, Lila, I just thought of something." I craned my neck to look at Kasumi.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Earlier you said your name had an R in it. What does it stand for?"  
  
I was so tired; I couldn't even remember why I hated my middle name so much. "Renee." Half the room went silent, and the other half looked confused for a moment. About a fourth of the room tried their best to hold back a chuckle, and Ranma went into straight out laughing fits, which sounded more like a hard giggle in his current state.  
  
"Um, are you sure?"  
  
I nodded my head. "Mmm, hmm. Why?" I sat silently for about half a minute, the gears in my head slowly turning, then I'm sure I turned bright red. "Uh, about that... I can explain it..."  
  
I waited till Ranma stopped laughing and everyone else had gotten control of their giggling before I spoke. "See, the minister had told my mom I would be a girl, she had already decided on a middle name before I was even born. She's stubborn enough that I'm glad she couldn't think of any good first names... For a girl anyway. She just didn't want to change her mind."  
  
Ranma spoke up first. "Ah, that sounds like it makes a lot more sense than what I had in mind."  
  
Akane looked at him funny and asked to elaborate. "Hmm? And what would that be?"  
  
"Well, Happosai told me once that he once got the chance to give a kid a name. He chose Pantyhose." She smiled. "Ha! Poor guy's been chasin him around ever since tryin to get him to change his name!" She then went into another fit of laughter; I honestly couldn't see what was so funny.  
  
'Thirty...' As I sat there, I counted how many times I yawned. 'Thirty- three...'  
  
"She looks pretty tired... Akane, why don't you-?"  
  
"Yes father." That was Akane? 'Thirty-nine...'  
  
I stood up when someone grabbed my hand. "Come on..." I looked up at her, and decided I could stand on my own two legs.  
  
Turns out, it was harder than I thought, I nearly fell over. Blinking my eyes back to life, I managed to stand under my own power, and let myself get led to... somewhere.  
  
I wasn't exactly sure how I ended up there (that's how far out of it I was) but I ended up in Akane's room. "Here, looks like they already set up your bed. It's not exactly first class, but it's better than sleeping on the floor." At the moment, I would have slept on the floor and not even noticed.  
  
"Okay... [Insert yawn here]" 'Okay, this is getting old...' I crawled in the cot thing and put my head on the little white pillow.  
  
"Geeze, you are tired, aren't you? Don't you want to take a bath first?"  
  
I looked up at her, sleep ready to take me. "Geeze, you sound like my mom. Besides, I'm afraid if I [yawnerific] did, I'd fall asleep and drown... [Yet another yawn]" I was just barely able to keep one eye open.  
  
"Well, okay. I guess it can wait till morning. I wanna talk to you anyway, when we get the chance..."  
  
I was so far already asleep that I didn't even notice her pull the blanket over me.  
  
~~~~~~*** I can't let this chapter get any longer ***~~~~~~  
  
Sorry, but I just can't go that far with one chapter. But anyway, go ahead and tell me what you think, and also, if things work out right, the next chapter should be out tomorrow.  
  
Alex: I think I've only been that tired once...  
  
Alex Ultra: Oh really?  
  
Alex: Yeah, one time I had used up my energy so much that I felt SUPER tired. I then came to find out that it also happened to be five in the morning. Now THAT is tired!  
  
Alex Ultra: I bet... X.x  
  
Lila: Did I do okay?  
  
Alex Ultra: Um, I think so. Yeah, you were tired very well... X.x My head hurts.  
  
Lila: Okay, cool. Um, you got anything to eat around here?  
  
Alex: OH!! OH! PICK ME! I KNOW!  
  
Lila: Um, okay. I pick you?  
  
Alex: Follow me! I'll show you some GREAT stuff!  
  
Alex Ultra: Hey! You stay out of my---  
  
Alex: Don't worry! I won't! ^.^  
  
Alex Ultra: Oh, okay... [To self] Hey, wait a second...  
  
Well, I gotta go, if it isn't done already, the next chapter should be coming out soon, so review and tell me what you think! Also, there should be some action coming later.  
  
As for right now, I gotta check on a certain character of mine...  
  
Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds  
  
Alex and Alex Ultra  
  
LATER 


	3. Getting Acquainted

Well, here goes.  
  
Okay, next comes... um, hey, where'd Alex go?  
  
Alex Ultra: [Looks around for Alex] ALEX!! You here!?  
  
Alexander: Oh, hey. Um, sis asked me to tell you she's gonna be late...  
  
Alex Ultra: Why?  
  
Alexander: Well, you know us... it shouldn't take too much of a stretch of your imagination.  
  
Alex Ultra: Oh boy... just tell her to not take the head with her this time! The last one started to smell pretty quickly!  
  
Alexander: She says okay!  
  
Alex Ultra: Geeze... Um, have you seen Lila?  
  
Alexander: Huh, I think she's around here somewhere... Oh! Really? Okay, I'll go get her. [Suddenly disappears]  
  
Alex Ultra: [Left suddenly alone] I hate when they do that.  
  
Well, I guess we can't really get this going without Lila here...  
  
So instead let's do the Reviewer Responses:  
  
I forget my name O_o: Yo, I don't know about tedious, but I guess some people would find it kinda long... I guess 8 is good. Not perfect, but... And hey, you can swing ANY way you want to. (Hippie voice) I don't judge, man! V^_^ And no, I'm not a hippie either.  
  
TerraEpon: Shut up you moron. You can keep your opinion, and I'll keep mine. But trying to infringe on those of others is truly an infringement on human rights. Normally, I wouldn't give people like you the time of day, but this is a special case. -Alex Ultra 8:03AM Oh, and I think they would be good together because they're both crazy and obsessive, so there!  
  
Well... now what?  
  
Lila: Hey! I'm here! [Lila runs in, clothes tattered]  
  
Alex Ultra: What happened to you?  
  
Lila: Alex took me 'Training'. She didn't tell me it involved DEMONS!  
  
Alex Ultra: [Sweat drop] Uh, yeah. She gets like that sometimes...  
  
Okay, now we can get on with it.  
  
~~~~~~*** GETTING ACQUAINTED ***~~~~~~  
  
"Wake up sleepyhead!"  
  
"Huh?" I opened my eyes and ended up looking straight at Akane. "AAH!!" Surprise hit me right away; I jumped out of the bed and backed myself into the corner pretty quickly. "Huh? Whoa! Where am I?"  
  
"Uh, you're in my room?"  
  
"WHAT!? Why am I in a gir-- Oh yeah." It took a minute for my brain to kick in and remind me of my current situation. Even though I still didn't remember going to sleep. "Um, sorry."  
  
Akane's expression went from surprise, to an unreadable expression. "No problem. Um, you wanna take a bath now?"  
  
I could only blink for a second or so. "Um, sorry, but my brain must not be working right yet. Do you mean TOGETHER?"  
  
"Well, I don't have to be in with you, I just wanna talk to you."  
  
Well, it wasn't all that much better, but I didn't really see any harm in it. "Honestly, Akane, I'm not sure I wanna be in there with myself."  
  
"What, you don't trust yourself?" She smiled one of those teasing smiles.  
  
"No! I just--"  
  
"Well, you'll have to get used to it sooner or later, might as well be sooner. And besides, you have to take a bath every once in a while!"  
  
I couldn't really find it in me to smile, but I did agree. "Well, I guess you're right. But it still seems like I shouldn't..."  
  
"Hey, don't worry, it's not like there's anything you'll do that will be an invasion of privacy!" I could only nod stupidly.  
  
"So, um...?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where's the bathroom?" I'm pretty sure she face faulted, though I didn't actually see it. I just know that when I turned back around, she was on the floor with one foot twitching every three seconds. "Akane?"  
  
~~ One tour later ~~  
  
"Okay! Let's get this started!" As I thought up a pun about a song by someone who called themselves a color [1], Akane reached over to the controls and turned on the water. I wasn't really all that interested in the water, so as I waited for that to get up to speed, I couldn't really help but look in the mirror.  
  
Honestly, this person was someone I had never seen before. Her eyes were like a ruby red, her face looked as if she spent hours on it every morning (like most girls in anime), and her hair... well, at the moment, her hair was a sight to behold. I had bed-head.  
  
"Whatcha looking at?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, just trying to get used to it. But I can't get past the feeling that I'm looking at someone else..." I again looked at the mirror, this time below the face.  
  
I can't even imagine what kind of look I had on my face at that moment, but it seemed like I looked even better than when I had looked in the door! "Oh god! I'm a pervert's dream!"  
  
"Uh, yeah. Looks like you're right... never heard it described that way though..."  
  
"And how would YOU describe it?"  
  
Akane smiled. "You've got a big bust!" It was my turn to fall uncontrollably.  
  
Rubbing the side of my head (the part that hit the floor), I stood, laughing nervously. "Well, yeah. I guess that's ONE way of putting it!"  
  
"Well, come on! Let's go, it's almost ready!"  
  
Sighing, I got undressed, expressing that I still wanted Akane facing the other direction.  
  
I cautiously stuck my hand in the bathwater, testing it in case Akane had it too hot. It was fine, if not a bit colder than I would have had it.  
  
Shrugging it off, I got in.  
  
"So, Lila."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What do you think of Ranma?"  
  
"Ranma?" I wasn't really sure of what to say. "Uh... I don't know. He's cool, I guess."  
  
"... Hmmm. What do you think of his curse?"  
  
"Curse? You mean that girl thing?"  
  
"Yeah. That girl thing."  
  
"Well, I guess that would be a good way of getting over being embarrassed around them."  
  
"Ranma!? Embarrassed!? Hah!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, I just can't see him being embarrassed about TOUCHING a girl..." I couldn't see her, but I could tell she was fuming over something. "Besides, he seems to get along well enough with all the girls constantly chasing after him."  
  
"Well, did you ever know him BEFORE he was cursed? Maybe he would have been different if he hadn't been?" I could tell she was thinking about it. "I mean, some guys would be embarrassed enough to... I don't know, actually. But I know some guys can't even get close to a fully clothed girl without dying of embarrassment." 'Darn soap...' I found myself searching the bottom of the tub looking for the soap that had just slipped out of my hand.  
  
"Hn, I guess you're right. But it sure doesn't stop them from looking!"  
  
I heard her comment. It was a generalization. "Some guys it does. I knew this one guy who always hid his face anytime a girl walked by. He couldn't bear to look at them, and when he did his nose would sometimes bleed. But, unfortunately, none of the girls ever really noticed him, so the judgment fell on all boys because he wasn't included in the evidence." I found myself again looking for the soap. "DARN SOAP!!! Uh, that's why generalizations rarely ever work... Found it!"  
  
Akane was thinking again. "I guess... Man, now I feel bad."  
  
"About what?" I looked around, and not finding what I was looking for, I asked Akane. "Hey, where's the shampoo?"  
  
She handed me a little blue bottle. "About beating on all those boys at school. I guess I can't say they're all dirt, can I?"  
  
"Well, you can blame it on, rrgh, mother nature. It's a survival instinct that boys are so strongly attracted." I rubbed a little harder, grunting when I came to a knot in my hair. "Someone has to make the first move or else the species won't go on for long... OW!" With tears coming out of one eye I rubbed that sore spot again, having just pulled on a knot that was strongly attracted to that very spot.  
  
"Yeah... but what about you?"  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"What did YOU do about the girls?"  
  
"Me? Well, I didn't really pay any attention." I let my hands rest at the side. "Honestly, I paid them about as much attention as I would the boys. And I paid them about as much attention as I did a rock..."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know. I just wasn't really all that interested in being apart of their circles or anything. So I just stuck to myself..."  
  
"You didn't have any friends?"  
  
"Nah, just the people who liked Anime and stuff. Though that's about as far as those discussions ever went."  
  
"AKANE!! Are you done in there yet!?" Ranma was knocking on the door, obviously annoyed at something or another. Her shrill voice said that she was, um, as she, uh, at the time. Yeah, you get the idea.  
  
"Just a minute!! So... anyway."  
  
"You know we're supposed to be meeting someone today, right?"  
  
"I SAID JUST A MINUTE!" I heard Ranma walk away, with a bit of grumbling.  
  
"Well, let's get you dried up and ready."  
  
"Sure..." I had barely gotten out of the tub before a towel hit me in the side. "Hey, I said no looking!"  
  
"Oh come on, just get dried and put your clothes on." When she didn't turn back around, I just decided to shrug it off and go about my business.  
  
"All right, now what?"  
  
"We're gonna meet some friends from class in town. We're gonna get ready for our little Hawaiian getaway." I wasn't sure what to think of the sarcastic tone or the smile with much the same feel to it. "Oh yeah, and Nabiki told me mister what's-his-name wants to see you. Probably to see his newest student."  
  
I was at a loss for words as I fussed with my hair for, very likely, the first time. I was trying to get those pigtails on either side of my head to go back to the way they were. "Who's mister What's-his-name?" 'Darn things... where'd those things go?' As I looked around for those 'things' that had been holding my hair in place until recently, Akane began fussing with my hair for me.  
  
"He's the principal, not really sure what he's like, though I'm sure Ranma would know."  
  
"What, you've never seen him? You know, you're a lot better at this than I am..." I watched as she re-braided those lengths of hair that I had gotten to almost ignoring.  
  
"It comes with practice, I guess. And no, I've never actually been to see him. But I guess I am new to high-school so I may end up going to see him eventually." She took out a comb and proceeded to pull my hair into roughly the same place it was when I first showed up the day before.  
  
I looked it over with a bit of interest, going over how she did that in my head. It didn't really look all that hard, and my hair now seemed to have similar qualities to Ranma's. Except that mine was blue and I had two pigtails, one on each side, and in the back my hair flared out to the sides.  
  
I wasn't exactly sure how, but it seemed almost like this was how my hair wanted to be. 'Eh, I guess it makes sense.' I had never seen anyone in Anime have a bad hair day, unless it was on purpose. (A/N: [Author munches on popcorn] Oh wait... um, right...)  
  
"Okay, let's go."  
  
"Where're we going?"  
  
"Well, first, we're gonna see what the Principal wants."  
  
~~ Outside the Principal's office ~~  
  
Ranko (Ranma in female form, and I'm glad they already had a separate name) was telling me about Mr. Kuno (the Principal guy). Apparently he had an obsession with everything Hawaiian. "Oh, and whatever you do, don't eat the fruit. He's always making them explosive."  
  
"Now that's just downright dangerous..."  
  
Ranko shrugged. "Eh, doesn't seem to bother him. Just don't eat it and you should be fine."  
  
I couldn't help myself but try to picture myself with a hole in my stomach. I suddenly didn't feel too good. "Hey, what's wrong? You're green!" Akane expressed concern for me.  
  
"I think I just lost my appetite..."  
  
"Look, he's really harmless, just hear what he has to say, and don't eat the fruit." Ranko opened the door for me and Mr. Kuno saw me.  
  
"Ah! Miss Dilas! Good to see you!" I let out a short sigh, and resolved myself to getting this over with.  
  
"Uh, hello Mr. Kuno."  
  
"Oh, please. Call me Principal! Please, have a seat." As I closed the door behind me, I noted all the fruit in the room, any one of which could possibly hide a dangerous explosive. 'Oh great, look at all that fruit...!' (A/N: [Laughing] Hehe, wow, that's an interesting thought... afraid of fruit!)  
  
"So I see that word of this meeting has reached you already! Yes, that girl's connections are rather... well, I can tink of no good word to describe it."  
  
"Uh, huh. She seems to know stuff..."  
  
"Yes, well I am to be understanding dat you are new, and dat you will be in Saotome's class? Yes?"  
  
"Uh, I've been told that, yeah." I tried to feign a smile, finding it hard.  
  
"Oh! Well then you MUST participate in the latest class project!" I didn't know what to think of any of this.  
  
~~ Outside of the office again ~~  
  
Ranko and Akane's attention was taken off of their staring contest for a minute as the door opened. And out stepped Lila, looking rather annoyed and covered in shredded apple.  
  
Still looking annoyed, she turned to Ranko. "Okay, not to say there's anything wrong with this school's Principal but... WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THAT GUY!?"  
  
Ranko shrugged. "I think everyone would like to know that..."  
  
"So what did he want?"  
  
Lila held up a small pile of papers, what looked like everything needed to send a number of people to a foreign country. "I don't know how he got to be Principal, but after the apple blew up on his desk, he shoved these in my hand and told me about a seven page report on Hawaii due three days after we get back... And I still want to know what's up with him..."  
  
Akane put her hand on Lila's shoulder and smiled. "Well, hopefully you won't have to deal with him too much. But wait until you meet his son!"  
  
"Is he anything like his father?"  
  
Ranko, walking on the other side of the blue-haired girl, smiled in a teasing way. "In some ways yes, and other ways no. With him there's no exploding fruit or bad T-shirts."  
  
~~ Lila again ~~  
  
'I just took a bath, and now I'm all sticky!' I sighed as I pulled a piece of that stupid apple out of my hair. "I still wanna know what's wrong with him..." I kept clutching the papers and stuff he had given me as we exited the school, where there was actually a bunch of people. "Hmmm, you'd expect this place to be empty on a Saturday..."  
  
"AH! My pigtailed goddess! Come with me and we shall leave this place and live together forever!" Some strange guy who was trying to look like a Samurai started running over to us with his arms open wide.  
  
I backed away nervously just as Ranko put her foot to the weirdo's face.  
  
He fell over sideways and started babbling something about his pigtailed goddess, which I assumed to be his nickname for Ranko.  
  
I took a chance and looked down at him, curious as to who this guy was. "Is this that guy you were talking about?"  
  
"Yeah, that's Tatewaki Kuno, the residential idiot." Ranko's foot had left a rather clear mark on his face.  
  
Suddenly his eyes opened, and he saw me.  
  
Like the idiot he had been making himself out to be, he got back up and started shouting to the sky. "Oh! Praise be the lords on this day! Two pigtailed goddesses have come to greet me!" He turned to me and I was taken by surprise rather quickly.  
  
"Hey! Wait a--!" I couldn't say much more, as he grabbed me around the arms, and I found myself in a place I didn't want to be.  
  
"Nngh! Aaagh!" Try as I might, I couldn't get free. "Well, this is an uncomfortable position."  
  
He looked down on me, I'm not sure what he was thinking at the time, but I'm also sure I didn't want to know. "Are you uncomfortable my goddess? Here, let me make you more so!" He immediately picked me up so that I was hanging in the air. I'm not sure what he was doing, but he was apparently trying to carry me over the threshold.  
  
I looked at him and smiled. "Why thank you!" I then scowled angrily. "NOW I CAN REACH YOUR HEAD!!" I immediately rammed my fist against the top of his head in an attempt to get him to put me down.  
  
Seeing that that got no reaction from him, I thought up another way to get him off of me. I was just about to utilize it when he looked at me in THAT way. "AAHH!!!" I then rammed my elbow into his forehead, and immediately fell to the ground.  
  
I stood up and looked angrily down at his unconscious form. "DARN YOU!!" But Akane dragged me away before I could cause him any of the bodily harm I felt he deserved.  
  
"Akane! What are you doing!? HE TRIED TO KISS ME!!!"  
  
Ranko walked up beside me. "Yeah, I know. That's the first thing he did to me too, but he's too brainless to get the message." I looked back at him, still fuming. He was just getting back up and immediately started looking around.  
  
I could just pick out what it was he said. "WHERE DID MY PIGTAILED GODDESSES GO!?!? WAAAHHH!!" He then went into a fit of wailing and shouting that I didn't care to follow.  
  
"Come on, Senuri and the others are waiting for us!" Akane then looked at me. "But I think they can wait... Come on, I think it would be a good idea to at least get you washed up."  
  
~~ Sometime later ~~  
  
With clean hair and a new set of clothes, I found myself in the middle of a rather large mall. But I was more concerned about how Ranma's clothes fit me better than Akane's.  
  
~ Flashback ~  
  
Lila was fussing with the shirt Akane had just given her. "I still say it seems cramped in here..."  
  
Ranko smiled. "Oh, that's because Akane's 'smaller' than you are! Stay here, I'll be right back!" Before Akane could shout at her, Ranko was gone.  
  
Seemingly in seconds, she came back with a silken blue shirt in one hand. "Here, try this on!"  
  
Lila looked at it, and tried it on. As she did so, Akane started chasing Ranko around the house saying something about 'That comment'.  
  
~ End flashback ~  
  
I sighed. Who knew that bust size could be such a bitter competition between a boy and a girl? 'Well, at least these are comfortable...'  
  
"Hi!!! Akane! Over here!" I looked in the direction the sound came from to see a small number of girls running toward us.  
  
"Oh, hey guys! You ready?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
One of the girls looked us over. "Hey, I knew Ranma was coming, but who's this?" She now had her full attention on me.  
  
"Hey, while I'm a girl, I'd prefer to be called Ranko, okay?" But the others just waved her off.  
  
Akane answered their question. "This is Lila, she's staying with us, and is also in need of joining us today. Okay?"  
  
"Hi Lila!" One of the girls, the one with brown hair (only one had brown hair), offered her hand to me. "My name's Inima!"  
  
"Uh, hi, Inima!" I took her hand and she shook vigorously.  
  
The other two settled for waving and smiling. Their names were Senuri and Kori, and both of them had black hair. (Just in case you really care.)  
  
"Okay, let's get started!"  
  
~~  
  
The reason we were there was to get a small wardrobe of clothes for the trip to Hawaii.  
  
I honestly had never thought I would ever be trying on swimsuits and sundresses, but Ranma didn't seem to have a problem with it and that helped.  
  
I was able to buy these things only because of a 10000 Yen loan Nabiki had made me (on her sister's insistence), on 15% weekly interest starting when we got back of course. She made me promise to pay it back in full, even going so far as to making out a contract.  
  
By the time we were finished we each had enough new stuff to fill a number of suitcases. I had tried to minimize what I bought, but ended up spending the whole loan anyway.  
  
Inima looked rather happy, and rather unhappy at the same time. "That was fun! Too bad it had to end..."  
  
"Oh come on, Inima. It's not like it's the end of the world!" Senuri patted the other girl's shoulder.  
  
Akane interrupted. "Yeah, and maybe later you can help Ranma shop for something!"  
  
Ranko looked shocked for a moment, then smiled despite herself. She then started hissing through her teeth. "I don't think that will be necessary Akane. I think he'll be fine!"  
  
Kori took a bit out of her nachos and cheese and looked at Ranko with a blank expression. "Oh come off it, we all know you're Ranma!"  
  
"I know! But it's not like I've ripped through all my clothes yet! Besides! My credit-card's maxed out as it is!"  
  
Akane took a bit of her own dish of nachos. "What do you mean yet? Your muscles haven't grown appreciably since you were twelve! You said so yourself!"  
  
I took in the bit of conversation she heard with little interest. It was just the ramblings of a bunch of girls blowing off time till they had to go home.  
  
Really, there was nothing interesting about that.  
  
"Are you okay Lila?" Akane managed to get my attention, her big brown eyes staring directly into mine.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean, you're being so quiet, and you keep sighing."  
  
"Oh, I guess I'm bored, tired, and a little distracted." I managed a faint smile. "And I still can't believe I bought so many clothes all at one time!"  
  
Akane smiled an almost teasing smile. "Well, these two will do that to ya!"  
  
I looked at the three other girls across from me, and almost wondered where Ranm... er, Ranko had gone. I smiled a little as I recalled what seemed to be their favorite phrases: 'Oh! That looks absolutely GORGEOUS on you!' 'Wow, you look good!' and the ever popular 'Can I have it?'  
  
"Yeah, sure seems like it. I think even Ranko is having trouble just keeping up with them!" I smiled in a way that was sincere. "But I guess I'm just tired." I then went back to fiddling with my spoon, having already finished my ice cream.  
  
~~~ Somewhere else (Yes, again) ~~~  
  
"Hanumiki, I think you should take a look at this!"  
  
The shorter, older looking man somehow managed to look over the taller man's shoulder at the crystal ball before him. "Hmm? What is it?"  
  
Bishibon sighed, he knew what he was about to say was corny and over-used, but there was simply no other way to describe it. "There seems to be a disturbance in the force..."  
  
"You're right..." Hanumiki stared into the crystal ball for a moment. "We do need a new way of saying that." Bishibon fell on his side and nearly lost his concentration for a moment.  
  
"Sir, what do you think should be done about this?"  
  
Hanumiki looked around through the crystal ball for a moment. "I'm going to call an old friend. In the meantime, you keep a close eye on that anomaly for me. It may create a problem if left alone."  
  
Bishibon nodded and went back to his task of watching the events on that Earth, while keeping a thumbnail view on that anomaly.  
  
He sighed. 'I hope things don't get too interesting...'  
  
~~~~~~*** End of Chapter 3 ***~~~~~~  
  
KITTY CATS!!!  
  
Alex: Excuse me?  
  
Alex Ultra: I love KITTY CATS!!!  
  
Alex: So?  
  
Alex Ultra: I love em!  
  
Alex: You're hyper aren't you?  
  
Alex Ultra: Yep! That's what happens when I get up too early!  
  
Alex: X.x Okay... then I'm gonna go train.  
  
Alex Ultra: Hehe! You do that! WHILE YOU CAN!!! MWUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  
  
Alex: Okay what's wrong with you!?!?  
  
Alex Ultra: Nothing! Nothing! [Holds back a snicker]  
  
Alex: Whatever... [Disappears]  
  
Lila: Um, can I go now?  
  
Alex Ultra: No, you need to help me start the next chapter now!  
  
Lila: U.U  
  
Alex Ultra: Ja ne all!  
  
Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds  
  
Alex and Alex Ultra  
  
LATER 


	4. Training Day

Wow, chapter 4 already... cool.  
  
Well, as soon as this one is done, I'm gonna have to give Lila a rest. She's been complaining and I've got other fics to give some much-needed attention to. So as much as I hate to say it, this one is gonna have to go on limbo for a little while. But hopefully not too long...  
  
But this chapter WILL go into some much needed plot development I HOPE [throws Lila a look that could strip paint].  
  
But before we do too much, let's make a space for the Reviewer Responses:  
  
I STILL can't remember my name: It's too bad u can't remember it. And hey, why didn't you give Lila a hug? I think she may be feeling left out... And don't worry, whether fast or not, this story will reach its destinations... eventually.  
  
Anime DUST: Yeah, I know. The first four chapters were already written, so I updated day after day. And the latest Manga volume I have is 23... I wonder when 24 is coming out? And I'm not worrying about TerraEpon... I've dealt with people like that, and it's actually kinda depressing. Some people actually need to feel like they're making other people hurt to feel better about themselves... (*CoughsuperBOI_Coolcough*) Oh well. And I don't think you'll be waiting TOO long for chapter 4... It's here already... isn't it? It should be? Hehe heh, um, yeah, I'm pretty sure it is... I'm gonna finish this now. I'm feeling hyper right now. @.@  
  
Now on with what I'm here at the computer to do... DANCING!!!! [Does a little jig]  
  
[Readers sweatdrop at Alex Ultra's 'dancing', which looks more like spastic twisting]  
  
Lila: Uh, don't do that.  
  
Alex Ultra: Too... early... can't... think... Oh well, maybe in the four days it will take to write this I'll wake up. ^.^'''  
  
Lila: -_-''  
  
Quick Note: When extra punctuation is placed inside quotes, that means it's said in something other than Japanese. "-English-" "Japanese" "\Chinese\" Understand? I'm going to put this at the beginning from now on, just in case it becomes handy. ^.^  
  
Chapter 4  
  
~~~~~~*** TRAINING DAY ***~~~~~~  
  
Along a nameless street in a nameless part of town there walked a nameless stranger.  
  
People saw her and waved her off as a traveler, her dress was very obviously American. Simple jean shorts with a white t-shirt and a blue backpack.  
  
She didn't seem to feel out of place, but she did feel lost. Her gaze was constantly at the side.  
  
Pulling a scrap of paper from her pocket, she went over the instructions once again.  
  
~~  
  
'Why can't I land a hit!?' I was practicing again; Akane was helping me with my form as Ranma hopped around like I wasn't important. "Hehe, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I can't hit you!"  
  
"Yeah! And neither can she!" Ranma threw a teasing glare at the girl standing to the side, who tried to pretend like she hadn't noticed. (She didn't do either one well.)  
  
I just kept trying to hit Ranma, following him everywhere he went while watching his movements as best I could. I had a feel for the style he was using to dance around me, but that didn't seem like it was his fighting form. He had his hands behind his back and was smiling teasingly the entire time.  
  
After I had had enough of being danced around, it was my turn to dance. I was told to practice my katas, with Akane telling me how to do it right.  
  
I had been told that I had natural skill, but for some reason that didn't seem to make any difference. Though I suppose even the most skilled need instruction, and practice...  
  
"AAHH!!" With that last kick, I managed to land on the ground, in a rather undignified position.  
  
"You're swinging your back too much, it's throwing you off balance."  
  
"Heehee... Yeah, I guess so." As much as I hated it, sometimes my laugh came out as a giggle. Especially when I was smiling stupidly and/or laughing through my teeth.  
  
I adjusted the weighted wristbands (that I had insisted on buying to build my strength) from their previous position (over my thumbs) to a more comfortable position before I got back to my kata.  
  
The odd thing about the Anything Goes style is that very few of the katas are actually named. I had been practicing them for a few days now, but I had only learned the names of three of them. One was named after a place, one after a thing (a cat, one Ranma never practiced for some reason), and one named after Ranma himself (seeing as how he supposedly invented it).  
  
I took to them like a fish to water, but I still couldn't hit Ranma! Akane had commented on how Ranma seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, and anymore, she had as much trouble with him as I was! Although, I suppose his daily fights with Ryoga and Mousse helped him to keep getting stronger. Akane was saying that they hadn't always been ganging up on him, even Kuno seemed to be getting on his case, though that was only because he thought the way to 'The Red Pigtailed Girl' was through him.  
  
He continued to hit on me though, much to my dismay. Just this morning I dumped a trashcan on his head and he still couldn't figure it out that I was saying no. 'I can't wait till we go on that trip and I don't have to worry about him...'  
  
"Oh girls! Dinner's ready!"  
  
Akane looked me in the eye and smiled. "Wanna go get something to eat?"  
  
I didn't even have to answer, just thinking about food made my stomach gurgle in response. "Um, yeah." I smiled stupidly despite myself.  
  
~~ Minutes later ~~  
  
Kasumi looked over at me. "Aren't you going to take those off?"  
  
"What? These?" I pointed to the wristbands, and she nodded. "Nah, no real point in it."  
  
"But won't your arms get tired?"  
  
"Probably, but they'll get used to it, and then I'll get some more." Ranma looked at me funny for a second or so, and then laughed. Though the others only shrugged and went back to dinner.  
  
"Hey! How come I never thought of that?"  
  
Akane looked directly at him, cunning remark already prepared. "Because you don't think!" Ranma only rolled his eyes, and we went back to dinner (A/N: Which some people call Supper for some unknown reason...)  
  
~~ About half an hour later ~~  
  
I had managed to find a place that would take me as an employee for a while. It didn't seem to surprise me too much, but I was glad that they said I could start when I get back.  
  
Strangely enough, it just happened to be a place that specialized in Anime and Manga near the school. Even here they seemed to have it all over the place. Of course, not knowing what world I was in didn't seem to make an impact on how well I knew these different things.  
  
DBZ, InuYasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, all the different Gundams, everything was here. It was the perfect job for me! Except that it didn't really pay a whole lot.  
  
Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, but they can be pickers. I actually had a choice! Even without any ID!  
  
Which I would eventually need anyway. Though Suon had agreed to help me with that one.  
  
"Hmm, haven't seen this one before..." I flipped open the cover to something called 'Juunasa Ryohoshi'. I was still slightly amazed at how easy it was to follow the very blatant use of Japanese. Each character and symbol just seemed to automatically mean something to me.  
  
I put the strange Manga back on the shelf, having familiarized myself with it. It was something about an artist who used paint as a weapon. It didn't seem too good, but I figured I might as well know the gist of it.  
  
I sighed and picked up another one, under the meccha category. This one looked okay, it had a lot of action and lots of people yelling at each other. But it basically looked like another version of most of those Mech mangas out there.  
  
I was just about to pick up another one when Akane walked in the store.  
  
"Hey Akane. What's up?"  
  
"I was wondering what you've been doing in here all day?" She didn't seem annoyed, and I was never really in there all day. Just two hours a day so far.  
  
"So far, I've been looking around. There's so much here, I wanna know at least a little bit about each one." 'Love Hina' It didn't look like my type of anything, but I went into it anyway.  
  
"Soo... you're really thinking of taking this job? Sounds pretty boring if you ask me."  
  
I smiled. "Are you kidding? If I had had any drawing skill I would have filled the better half of a store this size with this stuff! And besides, I can practice my form or meditate when there's nothing better to do..." I shrugged; at this rate I would know nearly the entire stock in a few days. Looking around wouldn't really keep me entertained forever. Besides, I was living one, how could it get any better?  
  
Though I was keeping an eye out. Perhaps it was in here?  
  
But hey, I had two weeks of vacation ahead of me. Though, for some reason, this whole thing felt a bit like a vacation really.  
  
~~  
  
Lila was flipping through another Manga. The strange girl from before watched her with passing interest. She had some power, but it wasn't enough. She knew that this girl was not the one she was looking for.  
  
The other girl, she had a bit more power, but she was still too weak.  
  
'Boy, this could take forever. I hate not being able to use my ki to sense long distance...' With a sigh, she took a manga title off the shelf. 'Fruits Basket? What the heck is wrong with these people? Couldn't they at least come up with a better name?' With another quick sigh, she placed the booklet back on the shelf and walked away.  
  
Looking at the city skyline she sighed again. "-Well, a systematic search it is then...-" Adjusting her backpack, she walked down the street, keeping an eye on the levels of those she passed. 'I wish they had given better instructions... or at least a little information...'  
  
~~  
  
Ranma still wasn't pleased. Ryoga had nearly hit him when Mousse had him all tied up! He was definitely improving, but it didn't seem like it was enough! His obsession with becoming the best was STILL not quenched!  
  
Even if he WAS the best, he would never admit it to himself, because knowing he was the best meant that there was nothing left to train for. And he lived for training, for getting stronger.  
  
Besides, life just didn't seem as fun when he had to worry about who might come around the next corner. He wanted to be able to deal with it, and getting stronger seemed like the only real way to deal with ANYTHING.  
  
~~  
  
Akane had decided that Ranma didn't want to spar tonight. I guess that was okay, because Akane didn't seem like quite so much. It was true that I still wasn't really quite there yet, but I could at least make her use her hands.  
  
I wasn't really trying to do my best; I was more worried about watching how my body reacted. I was trying to improve, not win. Of course, I knew that I couldn't win, not really.  
  
But Akane wasn't letting up on the steam any, she didn't attack much, but I could tell she felt that she could have at any time.  
  
I wasn't nearly fast enough. Oh well. It's still more fun than sitting around brooding all day.  
  
"You keeping an eye on your energy?"  
  
"Uh huh." Intelligible comments were hard when I was meditating while fighting. But at least I wasn't keeping completely silent.  
  
"Why don't you take those wristbands off? It may make it easier."  
  
I knew I didn't want to, but I couldn't really remember why. I just grunted, not really paying enough attention to care otherwise.  
  
One hour became two, two became three, and before we knew it four hours had passed and we were still going at it. Well, Akane was, I was on the floor meditating again, having practically collapsed on the floor from lack of oxygen and a stitch in my side.  
  
I could hear the sounds of battle outside; Ranma had gotten some people to attack him unprovoked. Meaning that he asked them and they agreed.  
  
~~  
  
"Come on Ryoga! I want you to come at me with EVERYTHING!!! You too Mousse!" Ranma's face hit the ground as Genma smacked her on the back of the head. She quickly flipped away and faced the bald man. "I knew you would pops!" She went back to dodging as many of the blows as she could.  
  
Fighting three people all at once while a girl was sure a vigorous exercise, and Ranma was loving every second of it. If only she could get Ryoga and Mousse to get over the girl thing and just attack.  
  
An umbrella hit her in the back between the shoulders, which meant Ryoga was attacking finally. She flipped forward to lessen the impact and used her ankles to grab the thing straight out of the air.  
  
She then threw it at her father, who barely managed to stop it with both hands.  
  
Mousse let out a war cry of "Hand of the wild Ape!" and attempted to hit Ranma with another of his hidden weapons. Ranma could clearly see that it was a wooden backscratcher. Either he was getting faster, or Mousse was getting slower. Maybe both.  
  
He didn't have time to decide considering Genma had managed to throw the umbrella straight for Ranma's head at the same time that Ryoga had thrown a bunch of his headbands. Using one foot, Ranma used the force from the umbrella to shove herself to the side and avoid both attacks at once; at the same time Ryoga's headbands slapped into the umbrella and slowed it enough so that he could catch them.  
  
Mousse didn't send out a war cry, but he did manage to hit Ranma with some of his egg-bombs.  
  
Ranma took less than a half second to get over the fiery pain in her back, when she got a moment; she used some ki and stretched her back until it popped back into place. She then decided to go on the attack, defensive was getting boring.  
  
Mousse threw some more egg bombs, but with quick hands, they became Ranma's weapons. With a quick turn she threw one at the umbrella, which knocked it off course and exposed Ryoga before he was ready to attack.  
  
With a fast knee, Ryoga was doubling over in pain and Ranma turned her attention to Genma.  
  
Coming out of the sky seemed to be his thing; Ranma used her right arm to smack his leg so that he was off balance, and then delivered a mad left uppercut to his exposed back, leaving her father on the ground.  
  
In the same swing that had rendered her father helpless, she threw the remainder of the eggs at Mousse. It was no real task for Mousse to dodge his own eggs, but in the act of doing so, he managed to get on Ranma's right side. Right where the eggs had led him.  
  
Leaping off his left leg she avoided the swinging blade that Mousse had thrown at her and twisted in the air to dodge the various stringed weapons that followed, and even went ahead of her through the air.  
  
Landing nimbly he brought her elbow to the ground, only to swing his feet into the air and leap off said hand and catch Mousse in the back of the head, using her free hand to block the punch coming from the side.  
  
As Mousse fell to the ground Ranma took the fist (of which she still had possession) and throw the body that was connected to it straight through a brick wall. Which happened to be a part of the dojo where the girls were training.  
  
Ryoga blinked as he realized he was lying directly beneath a stunned Akane. "Oh, hey! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"  
  
"Are you coming back out here? I'm waiting!" Ryoga looked sternly at his surroundings, seeing Genma looking at him he suddenly found the strength for one last attack.  
  
"Heavy ki, Ground Blasting Technique SETSUBENSAII!!!" With a powerful blast of energy, he brought a veritable volcano of white-hot power shooting straight out of the ground!  
  
Ranma had sensed it coming, and was guarding against it, having situated herself at the very center of the blast. As she weathered the attack, she mused over Ryoga's terrible aim.  
  
At that moment when the attack was at its peak, Genma had come out with another technique. "ENERGY BLADE!!" Having picked up a sword from Mousse's dropped arsenal, he sent a screaming yellow blade of energy straight at his son in the center of the roaring white attack.  
  
Ranma could feel it coming, but there was little she could do except use her ki to try and block it.  
  
"AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Ranma's bloodcurdling scream shot through the night.  
  
~~ Elsewhere ~~  
  
A bright white line flew through the air, clearly visible against the darkened sky.  
  
The strange girl looked at it with growing interest. "Perhaps this is the one?"  
  
Making a quick decision, she ran off in the direction of the light. 'Who knew I would only have to wait?'  
  
~~ Back at the Tendo's ~~  
  
Ranko fell to the ground, landing only half-heartedly on her left foot. She was using her left arm to grasp a bright red gash going down her right side.  
  
With the wall destroyed, I had a full view of what was happening. I had no idea where Ryoga came up with that volcano thing, but it sure looked cool.  
  
With some interest, I watched Ranko's reaction. She looked angry, but had a joyous look in her eye at the same time.  
  
Before I could even see what had happened, she launched herself at Ryoga, who was preparing to throw some more of his headband things (must be a hobby). She caught him in half throw and nearly separated his right arm when she flipped him around and straight into the ground.  
  
As I was wondering if Ryoga was okay, Ranko turned her attention on her father, who was still holding the sword he had swung moments earlier.  
  
He was on the attack, but it looked like he was hoping to use the sword as a defensive weapon.  
  
Ranko stuck one foot behind her and used both hands to stop the sword in mid swing. She then used her right foot to catch him in the side and send him flying into a stone fence twenty meters away.  
  
It was over. Ranko was wincing as she looked over her injuries. 'If only I knew what she was thinking...'  
  
~~ But I know! ~~  
  
Ranma found that it was difficult to get over how painful a flesh wound was. She was beginning to wish she hadn't decided to try to use her injured limbs. But it hadn't been too bad.  
  
Her gi would need replaced, having been fairly well shredded and currently barely covering what needed to be covered. 'Darnit, I need to find some tougher fabric. These things keep gettin shredded on me.'  
  
She tested out her limbs. It wasn't too bad, she had managed to block at least ninety percent of the attack. But even that little bit was enough to leave a long red trace of blood down her entire right side.  
  
With a quick, fleeting panic, she wondered what it would have been like if she hadn't been able to guard! A quick picture of her, in the emergency ward with her side split open, flashed through her mind.  
  
She was just glad she had been able to guard it.  
  
~~  
  
Ranma was later screaming just as loud as when Ranko had gotten hit. But this time it was because Kasumi insisted on putting Iodine on the wound. And there was a LOT of wound there!  
  
But I was so tired, even the ringing in my ears didn't keep me awake, and I'm sure Ranma slept well as well.  
  
~~~~~~*** End of Chapter 4 ***~~~~~~  
  
Wow! That was so cool! I honestly hadn't expected that fight scene! Wow! I'm so proud!  
  
Well, I wanna know what you people think! Also, remember that from now on, updates on this story will be quite a bit less frequent. I have school and that tends to drain me pretty well. But I always say that Quality is more important than Quantity!!! ^.^  
  
Lila: Can I go NOW?  
  
Alex Ultra: Yes, we're done for now. I'll get Alex to get you when we're ready to do the next chapter. Okay?  
  
Alex: Yeah! And in the meantime, we can go training some more!  
  
Lila: Um, can I just go home? My head still hasn't stopped ringing from the last time you took me training...  
  
Alex: Fine... maybe I can get Ranma to train with me... [Puts one hand on Lila's shoulder and they both disappear]  
  
Alex Ultra: Okay. Now I need to get all caught up. I have people yellin at me from six different stories! ^.^'' Oh shoot.  
  
Well, that's it for now. Ja ne!  
  
Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds  
  
Alex and Alex Ultra  
  
LATER 


	5. Last Minute Chance

Wassup? I'm here again.  
  
Well, I got Alex to track Lila down and now we're all set to get at it again.  
  
As soon as they show up...  
  
Lila: I'm here!  
  
Alex: You started yet?  
  
Alex Ultra: Just getting there.  
  
But first, for the Reviewer Responses:  
  
I may never remember my name: Lila: [Coldly glares at Alex Ultra] WHAT made you suggest he do THAT!? Alex Ultra: [Grins stupidly] Eh... hehe? Um, hey, I wonder if you even have a name? Seems like you may not? Lila: Oh, you are SO gonna get it! Alex Ultra: ^_^+ Alex: -_-''  
  
Well, I guess we can get on with it now.  
  
Lila: [Grumbling to herself]  
  
Languages: "-English-" "Japanese" "\Chinese\" Thoughts don't count.  
  
~~~~~~*** LAST MINUTE CHANCE ***~~~~~~  
  
Ranma was up on the fence that next morning, despite being heavily bandaged all the way up his right side because of an incident the night before.  
  
I could just barely make out the slight limp every time he stepped on his right foot. He was fortunate his lower arm didn't get caught up in it or he would have had a tough time in class.  
  
I wasn't going to try to argue with him, but he was letting himself slow down this morning. He said it was so we wouldn't complain about him being too fast, but we knew better.  
  
Akane waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Huh? What's up?"  
  
She pointed her finger behind us. "You missed our turn." I then promptly turned around and ran at full speed back to the corner where we normally turn to school.  
  
"Haha! Oops! I guess I wasn't paying much attention! Sorry." Ranma was standing on the corner of his favorite fence looking a bit annoyed.  
  
With a sigh, he continued down the fence and we followed.  
  
"You sure aren't paying much attention this morning..." Akane was looking at me from the side.  
  
I pointed in front of us. "Aaah!" She barely managed to jump over the mailbox on the sidewalk. Getting her bearings back she came back up beside me. "See? Now you've got me doing it! What's up?"  
  
I pointed my finger up at Ranma. "Has he ever done that before?"  
  
She looked at him questioningly, and he looked at me with the same tone. "Done what?"  
  
I looked at him. "Nearly killed himself."  
  
Akane was silent for a second, but Ranma just shrugged and went on. "Yeah, a few times actually." She didn't say any more, so I didn't ask.  
  
Not even a minute later we arrived at the school.  
  
"Ranma!" Kuno ran out to meet us at the sight of Ranma. "Ah, my pig-tailed goddess, we shall have to speak later. Now my only concern is Ranma!" As I glared angrily at him, he pulled out a slip of paper that had the word 'Challenge' written on it.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"I challenge you Ranma!"  
  
Ranma fell into a fighting stance on hearing these words uttered. "So? How would you like to be beaten today? In the head, the side, the gut, or should I just take you out from below?"  
  
Kuno didn't say anything. "First, the terms. If I should win, you will set me up on a date with the Pig-Tailed girl."  
  
"HEY!!" I yelled at him, extremely put off.  
  
"I am sorry! But it is the red haired one of which I speak!"  
  
"Oh, go on."  
  
Ranma dropped his guard and looked at Kuno suspiciously. "Okay... and when I win, you'll leave both of them alone for the next week. Good enough?"  
  
Kuno smiled. "Acceptable. Do you accept this challenge?"  
  
"Yep!" Ranma fell back into his fighting stance.  
  
"Good. Now the terms for the challenge."  
  
"Ya ya, I beat your butt, we leave, everything turns out fine. Let's go!"  
  
"The one who scores higher on their next test shall be the winner!"  
  
Ranma was struck speechless for a second. "Huh?"  
  
"We meet back here in three days. The one who scores higher on their next test wins this challenge." Kuno walked away, seeming pretty confident for some reason. But then, he always seemed pretty confident, even when he had a face full of dirt.  
  
Ranma watched him walk away. "Um, what just happened?"  
  
Akane smiled at him teasingly. "Hehe, the densest guy in school just challenged you to a battle of wits!"  
  
"I can't wait to see this!" But first, I had to go to class.  
  
~~  
  
'Furinkan High School. Ranma Saotome.' A girl walking wordlessly by noted the name of the school as she continued on her way.  
  
She didn't even change pace as she walked on.  
  
"Hey! Aren't you going to school?"  
  
"Hmm? No. I don't go here, and I don't have school today."  
  
"Oh, bummer. We've got no breaks till summer three weeks from now. Well, see ya!" The boy that had addressed her ran off towards the school.  
  
"Hn, I'll have to look into it, I guess."  
  
~~  
  
On the first day, he studied. He had a test in his World History class tomorrow and he was going to be prepared.  
  
He studied during lunch, he studied during class, he even studied on the walk (run) home. And once there, he studied all night until he fell asleep reciting dates and names.  
  
Then the second day, he did what he knew he had to do. Constantly reviewing to himself all the useless information he had memorized the day before, he took the test.  
  
Initially, he froze, he hated tests. But then he took a deep breath, and plunged right in.  
  
Afterward, he wasn't as sure as he would have liked to be. "But hey! Kuno's a moron! He can't possibly do THAT well! HA!" After that revelation, he was in a pretty good mood.  
  
The next day was judgment day.  
  
~~  
  
We got to school and right away Kuno spotted Ranma. "Saotome! Today it is decided."  
  
"As it is, but not till after hours. I need to pick mine up today."  
  
"Then after hours it is! We shall meet then!" He was so cocky that he didn't even seem to notice me, not that I was complaining.  
  
'He must be up to something...'  
  
~~  
  
At lunch Ranma seemed rather happy. "So I take it went well?"  
  
"Check it out!" Ranma handed me a slip of paper. At the top-right corner was a big A+ in red ink, and just below that was a score. 98%  
  
I lowered the report and stared into his face. "What is it?" I handed the paper to Akane, who took it in hand.  
  
"Holy!! Ranma! You did this!? Wow!"  
  
"Great, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah! Wow, Kuno's going to have a hard time beating this!" Akane saw Nabiki walking by and waved her over. "Nabiki! Look at what Ranma did!"  
  
She looked at it and smiled. "Wow! That is good!" She let out a short laugh and walked on.  
  
"Man! Wait till I show Kasumi!" Ranma took back the sheet of paper.  
  
"First I have to show Kuno. Then you can show it to anyone but pops! Okay?"  
  
"Why not your father?"  
  
Ranma sighed. "Because he will get the idea that he needs to beat my head into the ground. Why do you think he took me on that trip through China anyway?" Akane shrugged. "I was apparently a smart kid and he figured I should put my head in Martial Arts like him. In other words he wanted me to be more like him..."  
  
"What do you mean? Fast to act and slow to think?" Ranma nodded, and I noted the interesting use of words.  
  
"Look, the bottom line is that this doesn't get to my father, okay?"  
  
"Sure, why not. Besides, that way I can save it for later!" Ranma scowled and went back to his eating.  
  
~~ Later, in the School Grounds ~~  
  
Ranma was waiting for Kuno by the school gate right after school let out. He didn't have too long to wait, of course.  
  
"Saotome, now we're here. Let's get on with this!" I still swore that he seemed a little too confident, but who knows?  
  
"Sure. Here you go, that's mine." Ranma handed his report to Kuno, who took it in hand with a smile.  
  
He looked at it and his face immediately took a frown. "You got this score, Saotome?"  
  
"Yeah, great isn't it?" Ranma looked... like Ranma. He was smiling, but he had already spent most of the afternoon being proud of himself so he probably didn't feel like gloating right then.  
  
"Well then, you may find my score... disappointing." He handed a similar piece of paper to Ranma's waiting hand.  
  
Ranma looked at it with a smile on his face... and immediately turned green.  
  
Akane walked over to look over Ranma's shoulder as Kuno spoke up. "Yes, I do believe it to be an acceptable score. Although it couldn't hurt that it was in my Kendo class."  
  
Anger immediately shone on Ranma's face. "KKKUUUUUNNNNOOOO!!! I-..." He seemed to be stuck mid-sentence, almost as if contemplating his next move. He had one finger stuck directly in Kuno's face.  
  
I could have sworn that I saw defeat weigh heavily on his shoulders as he said the next phrase. "I'll see what I can do." He then turned around and walked away, making eye contact with no one, letting Kuno's scorecard drop to the ground.  
  
Kuno started hailing the heavens and ran off to who-knows-where as if he was the happiest person in the world.  
  
I walked cautiously up to Akane and asked what that was all about.  
  
"Kuno got a perfect score. And Ranma lost."  
  
I thought about it for a minute, part in disbelief, and part in shock. "So what you're saying is... Ranma lost a battle of wits against the worst air- head in school."  
  
"Second."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"His sister's a bigger air-head, or acts like it." I sighed... not really finding why that was important.  
  
"We can talk about that later, let's just go." Akane started off, and I followed her.  
  
~~  
  
"So are you really going to go through with it?" Nabiki interrupted counting her money (most likely bets from the earlier encounter between Ranma and Kuno) to ask Ranma a question that was on everyone's mind.  
  
"I don't really have a choice. I agreed to the terms, and I'm not about to go back on it. I have to." Nabiki let out a hum and went back to her money.  
  
His father had gotten wind of the little bet, and for some reason was celebrating his son's loss. "HAHA!! My boy lost a battle of wits to an idiot! I'm so proud!"  
  
"Mr. Saotome! I don't see what's to celebrate about that!"  
  
"Ha! I always say that if you're one step behind in schoolwork, that means you're one step ahead in training! I'm proud of you boy!"  
  
"You do realize what this means, don't you?"  
  
"A small price to pay for your art! When I think a--" His celebration was cut short by a splash of water from a pail that was now empty and hanging from Ranma's grip.  
  
"Shut up pops!"  
  
"And Ranma, while you're at it, you really should get Ranko." Kasumi handed him glass of water for himself.  
  
Sighing, he took the glass. "What did I do to deserve this?" Closing his eyes, he dumped the glass over his head.  
  
~~  
  
'That's an interesting predicament he's gotten himself into.' The girl had to chuckle to herself as she went over what happened during the day. As strange as the circumstances may be, Ranma should have known Kuno was up to something.  
  
'Well, kay serah, serah. Or whatever that saying is...'  
  
~~  
  
Hanumiki smiled at his newest guest. "Well! I'm so glad you could make it!" An extremely old man, seeming even older than himself, and yet stronger and taller as well, stood only a few feet away, looking pleased to be there.  
  
"Oh of course. But you do know that I'm not actually here-here."  
  
"Of course, I realize that. But whether an Astro-projection or the real thing, it's you either way. We have much catching up to do old friend."  
  
The taller man smiled. "Of course, but why don't we discuss the reason for my visit, hmm? It must have been pretty important for you to have called me."  
  
"Yes... well. About that..."  
  
~~~~~~*** End of Chapter 5 ***~~~~~~  
  
Hehe, two cut-offs in the same chapter. Am I evil or what?  
  
Of course, there wasn't any action in this chapter, but wasn't Kuno's challenge PERFECT!?!?  
  
Yeah, that's what I thought. Perfect as always.  
  
Lila: [Dumps a bucket of water on Alex Ultra]  
  
Alex Ultra: [Shocked and confused] Meow?  
  
Lila: Ha! If you like cats so much, why don't you try BEING one for a while!?  
  
Alex: Good one! Jusenkyo water?  
  
Lila: Yep!  
  
Alex Ultra: Meow! [Is now a small brown and white cat]  
  
Lila: Now little kitty, it's time for your shots! [Holds up a needle]  
  
Alex Ultra: MEOW!!!!!!! [Panics and starts running at a blinding speed]  
  
Lila: Oh come on! It won't hurt too much! The pain will only last until you lose consciousness! Hehe...  
  
Alex: HAHA! I never would have thought of that! It's perfect! [Won't stop laughing]  
  
Lila: I know! I took the whole time while he was typing to collect that water!  
  
Alex Ultra: [Still meowing and running at inhuman speed]  
  
Lila: [To Alex] What's he saying anyway?  
  
Alex: He's saying 'NOT THE NEEDLE!! NOT THE NEEDLE!! NO NEEDLES! NO NEEDLES!!' Geeze, he's as bad as Goku!  
  
Lila: Another friend of yours?  
  
Alex: Uh, yeah.  
  
Alex Ultra: [Now on top of a refrigerator] [Series of meowing sounds]  
  
Alex: Well yeah I can talk to cats! Psychic, remember? All I had to do was read your mind!  
  
Lila: Yeah, like you did with the demons... remember?  
  
Alex: Oh yeah. You know, he turned out to be an up-standing guy! [Smiles sweetly]  
  
Lila: Uh, right.  
  
Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds  
  
Alex and Alex Ultra  
  
LATER MEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!! [HEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!] 


	6. Of Boys and Girls

            [Sitting with noticeable discomfort, Alex Ultra grabs the reigns of his computer and begins typing]  Hello again.

            Lila: [Snickers] I see you got changed back.

            Alex Ultra: Yeah, no thanks to you.

            Alex: Glad I could help!

            Alex Ultra: Help!?  You're the one who stuck me with that BAN!!!  (BAN: Big A** Needle)

            Alex: Yeah, you forgot I could fly, didn't you?

            Alex Ultra: Well, it slipped my mind...

            Lila: [Laughing wildly] Yeah!  That was great!!  HAHA!!!

            Alex Ultra: Look, can we just get on with this?

            Reviewer Responses:

            I just remembered my name!: Nice to meet you Kurai!!  [Alex Ultra smiles goofishly]  Am I really all that Kawaii?  Alex: Yes!  Alex Ultra: [Smiles stupidly] Shoot...  Lila: I'm not sure if I should be flattered or angry.  But if you try anything too frisky, you WILL find yourself with a face full of dirt!

            End Reviewer Responses.

            Alex: So, what do you think about being a cat, hmm?

            Alex Ultra: Well, on the bright side, I now know why Goku's hand spends so much time at the back of his neck! [Begins massaging back of neck] =^_^=

            Alex: Uh... right.

            Lila: Oh geeze.

            Alex Ultra: Seriously!  This feels great!  And I think it's increasing blood flow to my head!  [Begins smiling dopishly] =^_^= This really does feel good, and now I don't have that crick in my neck!

            Alex: Sheesh, can we just get on with it?  Please?

            Alex Ultra: Fine...

            Before we do, however, it is prudent to add one more mark to the language thing.  We all know that Kuno perceives things differently, and I have gone to great lengths to translate his thoughts.  They are denoted by two equal signs.  =This shall be but one example of Kuno greatness!= And by greatness, it means stupidity.

(I am experimenting with a new format; hopefully it will make a difference.  This is a test.)

On with it!

Chapter 6

~~~~~~*** OF BOYS AND GIRLS ***~~~~~~

~~ In Neo Realm ~~

"So you see, Merlin, we're going to have a lot of trouble if something isn't done!" Hanumiki had just finished with his explanation of the situation on Earth.

Merlin (or so he asked to be called) frowned.  "Okay.  But what do you propose I do about it?  I can't exactly go there and set things right.  That's beyond my abilities."

Hanumiki smiled.  "Well, you see.  I recently caught wind that you have a bit of a prodigy."

Merlin looked confused for a moment, but only for a moment. "I see."

~~ Back to Earth ~~

"Yes sir, that's right.  Akari Hintuki." A girl of medium build and light complexion had her fingers intertwined as an official looking man in a gray suit looked over a number of papers.

"Okay, it looks like everything is in order." He eyed a small black card that the girl had left on the desk.  "Could you...?"

"What?" She looked down at the card.  "Oh, okay.  No problem I guess." She picked up the card and held it by the ends of her fingers.

After a few seconds, before the officer's eyes, a seemingly holographic design, much like that of his own badge, appeared in the space before the card.

Almost mesmerized, the officer let one hand drift toward the design, feeling the texture of what he saw as if it was actually there.

Looking over the ribbon surrounding the central pit, he saw words.  'Agent of: IDC'

Breaking his mesmerized state, he looked her in the eye.  She couldn't be any older than sixteen, but here she had a badge.  True, he wasn't familiar with an organization called IDC, but something like that wasn't exactly easy to come across.  "May I?"

Smiling, she handed him the card, and the design immediately faded from view.

Looking at it, he mimicked the way the girl had held the card.  After more than a minute, there was no response.

The girl let out a short giggle.  "You see?  That's how you know it's real.  I'm the only one who can make it work."

The officer shook the card questioningly, then handed it back to her, along with several papers.  "Well, it's good enough for me.  Welcome to the country, Akari."

Smiling, Akari took what was offered to her.  "Thank you!"  With a quick shake of his hands, she stood up, and left the office.

~~ The Tendo Household ~~

"Oh come on Ranma.  It's not that bad!" Akane was doing her best to calm Ranma's nerves.  "And besides, Nabiki's paying for the whole thing!"

Ranma looked straight into Akane's eyes.  "That's what's got me nervous.  She doesn't do anything unless there's something in it for her." Ranma's eyes shot forward again; never taking them off the sidewalk they had previously been trained on.

I looked forward myself for a second or two, then voiced my thoughts.  "I must admit.  That does seem rather out of character for her.  But she wasn't acting any different...  I wonder what she's got up her sleeve..." I said it more for Akane's benefit, as I knew Ranma was already thinking the same thing.

Akane decided not to say any more, or maybe she was thinking about it now too.  But whatever she was doing, it left an uncomfortable silence between the three of us.

Ranma was the first to break the silence.  "Akane, when did your sister say he'd be there?"

"Hmm?  She said about noon.  And I guess she'd know... she seems to be rather well connected."

Ranma nodded approval, and we continued to walk in silence.  Yes, I said walk.  Even stranger, Ranma wasn't even on the fence!

I sincerely believed the world might crumble soon.

About ten minutes of silence later, we arrived at the school grounds, where Ranma was supposed to meet with Kuno.

"So, Saotome.  You have come."

"Kuno."

"Well, I have heard that you have for me some information?" Kuno's victorious grin spoke volumes, most of it Shakespearean.  At least he wasn't acting any different.

Ranma sighed.  "I spoke with Ranko, and if you make the arrangements, she'll try to come.

=I spoke with your pig-tailed goddess, and if you proclaim a time and place, she shall come to you.= Kuno's smile became slightly crazed as Ranma's words were undoubtedly twisted in his mind.  (A/N: Lila and the others do not know what goes on in his mind, that 'privilege' is mine and mine alone.)

"Haha!!  I shall now proclaim a time and place for my meeting with my Pig-Tailed goddess!!!" He looked at me with an expression I didn't care to decipher.  "My __other__ pig-tailed goddess.  I am sorry, but I have only enough of me for one at a time."

I frowned.  "Who's complaining?"

=The blue-pig-tailed goddess smiled.  "Oh Kuno!  I know that you will come to me in time!"= Kuno smiled again, and I didn't want to know why.  "Ah, of course.  Now, for the arrangements.  If you can but relay this information to my fair pig-tailed girl, I shall wait for her in front of the Kuno mansion, as I am not familiar with the location of the hole you undoubtedly have her locked up in." 

'Oh god.  This guy's an idiot to make idiots look good!'

"And the time shall be seven o' clock.  As that will allow us plenty of time to get to know each other." 'And to find a way to break Saotome's spell over her and replace it with one of my own!' Kuno's smile took on a sinister look, and I somehow felt like I knew what he was thinking.

"Fine Kuno.  I'll let her know." Ranma turned around and left without another word.

Akane watched him go, and I stayed behind waiting for Akane.

Turning to Kuno, Akane let a smile cross her lips.  "Oh, and Kuno."

"Yes, fair Akane?"

"I'll make sure that Ranma doesn't interrupt your _Perfect_ night." Smiling, she walked calmly away.

"A gesture which I appreciate, and although I believe I am capable of defending against that foul sorcerer myself, the assistance will help me to keep things from getting out of hand."

Throwing a frown at Kuno, I followed after Akane, also smiling.  'Things are already out of hand.'  "Idiot."

~~

Seven hours, seven hours with which most of those in the Tendo household went through their normal routine.  I practiced in the dojo, attempting to build on the moves and principals taught me during my stay.  By incorporating what I had seen in person and on TV, I believe I made a new type of the Anything Goes style.  True, I needed more practice at it, but Akane had convinced me that I had a rather sharp learning curve.  I wasn't all that convinced.

Nabiki was missing for about half that time, and the other half she spent in her room.  I still don't know what she was doing, but it wasn't my problem.

Kasumi spent most of this time cleaning the house and trying to calm Mr. Tendo.

Mr. Tendo spent a good portion of this time crying.  He kept complaining about how Ranma was going to leave Akane for Kuno.  I believe he even got Genma into the act.  It took a near collective effort from the rest of the household to get that idea out of their heads.  After calming down, the two of them then played Go, Anything Goes style.  (A/N: I just now realized, I can't remember what Go is!  That's so sad! -_-)

Akane spent a lot of this time lifting weights and yelling at Ranma.  The time she didn't spend doing this, she spent doing homework.

Ranma... I really have no idea what he was doing.  For once, the other boys left him alone, and the girls didn't try to claim him as their own.  It seemed that glompage had run out recently or something. (Glompage: The force of a glomp, the driving force/energy behind said glomp.  Without it, glomping becomes near impossible.  ;) That's three words I've had to add to my computer's dictionary!)  As far as I could tell, the only reason Akane was yelling at him was because he was acting depressed or being quiet, or something to that effect.

The last hour was spent with Ranko getting ready.  First, the kimono went on, then Nabiki showed her how to act 'convincing'.  Not that Kuno needed any convincing.  And as for learning to stand being near Kuno without blowing her top, that was something no one could prepare her for.

"Oh Ranma, you'll be fine!  Just don't remove his head and you'll be fine." Kasumi's statement seemed to be the most helpful of all, while only stating the obvious.

I think Nabiki was the one having the most fun with all of this.  She even added the final touch, unwrapping Ranko's pig-tail, and tying it down at the base, letting the rest of it fan out from there.  Ranko protested at first, saying something about dragons, but Nabiki assured her it would be fine.  I was just confused.

By seven, she was all ready to go, and was sitting in the back of a car that was rented just for this purpose, accompanied only by Nabiki, as Akane and I watched from the Roof-tops.

Ranko seemed rather put off by the turn of events, but to everyone else, it was the event of a lifetime.

~~

'Well, Ranma.  Seems you've gotten yourself into quite a predicament.' Searching the immediate area, the girl known as Akari found Kuno, sitting in a small rose-box.  'Wow, not bad.  And he looks pretty good too.  Almost sophisticated!  Too bad he's an utter maniac...' Smiling at her revelation, she jumped away, not even noticed by the two atop the adjacent building.

She didn't bother with following them, as she already had plans.  She knew where she wanted to go.

Besides, Kuno wasn't exactly hush-hush about his plans.  Anyone with ears could hear him proclaiming his plans to the entire world.

Rubbing the side of her head, she tried to make __it__ go away.  'God!  His voice gives me a headache!'

~~

Ranko allowed herself to be let out of the car, albeit begrudgingly.

Taking only a short look around, she found Kuno, sitting on a large, fancy white bench surrounded by roses of all different sizes and colors.  He was wearing a white tuxedo and smiling to her invitingly.

Giving a pleading look to Nabiki, she only got a smile and was pointed to Kuno.

Kuno saw his vision of beauty, and even his eyes were taken by surprise by the shocking reality of it.  Ranko was wearing a light blue kimono that took to her very well, complimenting her eyes and setting off her hair very well.  In her hair was a large red rose in one side, and a light blue bow sticking out the other side, seemingly holding her hair in place, but actually hiding the piece of string that was really holding it there.

Ranko felt really stupid, especially knowing that she was here to spend a night with Kuno.  'Decapitation?  No, killing isn't good enough.  Maybe I could cut his skin open and throw lemon juice in the cuts?  Yeah, that sounds sufficiently unpleasant.' She smiled at her own thoughts, a vengeful, dark smile that told of vicious intent.

=She smiled at him, a shy, pleasant smile that told of happiness and joy at being free from that sorcerer's grasp.=

"Ah!  So you have come, my pig-tailed goddess.  Might I propose that we sit here as we wait for the chariot that will whisk us off on our night of merriment?" With a smile, he gestured to a spot on the bench beside him.

'Well, I guess sitting can't hurt anything.' With a small frown, she sat down.

Immediately, she assessed her surroundings, and thinking quickly, she came up with a way to make it a bit unpleasant for Kuno.

Without his noticing, she pulled on a vine beside his seat so that it was on the bench, right where he was about to sit.

POIK!!  ERK!!!

Kuno's expression was worth a thousand words as he sat on the spiky vine.  Turning to Ranko, he smiled, with pained tears in his eyes.  'One small victory.' Ranko smiled back to him, trying to hide the vengeful laughter welling in her stomach.

 "Ah, my fa-air goddess.  Your beau-OO-ty is unparalleled.  But allow me to add but one small token to your atti-II-er to make it even more perfect!" Slowly, he stood, trying to ignore the pull as the rose was ripped from its vine and stuck to his butt.

Ranko nearly had tears in her eyes as Kuno walked straight-legged to a vine in the corner with a pair of shears.

After a moment, he turned back around, with one hand behind his back, and offered his pickings.  One blue rose.

Ranko saw a small crushed rose hit the ground behind him as Kuno used his other hand to remove it from his bottom-side.  She could swear she could hear unstifled laughter in the distance.  At this point, she could barely see straight through the tears that came from holding back her laughter.

=So happy at seeing the gift he was offering her (indeed, she was in tears of joy!) Kuno found that she was forgetting to accept it.  So he took the liberty to place it in her hair, just above her left ear to perfectly frame her face.  The added effect made her look even more like a true goddess.=

Ranko was so busy holding back her laughter that she didn't even notice Kuno placing the rose in her hair.

~~

Akane and I were laughing our heads off.  "OH KAMI!  That was so PERFECT!!!  HAHA!!"

"Yeah, I think I saw tears in his eyes!  But wouldn't it have been better if he had started jumping around like a monkey?"

Akane fought back the last of her giggles to climb back to the edge of the building and look over.  "Hehe, yeah, that would have been just perfect!"

"Hehe, [huff] oh, man.  Wow.  Hey, I wonder if anyone else is watching this right now?"

~~

ACHOO!!!  Sniff.

"Wow, I wonder who's talking about me?" Looking back to the scene with Kuno, Atsuko smiled.  "Nabiki was right.  This does look to be worth it." Picking up her camera, she resumed her little photo shoot.

Passingly, she wondered where the other two were.  Nabiki had made sure that at least three girls with cameras followed Ranma during this entire meeting.  Which meant that there were two more somewhere around.

~~

ACHOO!!

"Oh god.  I hope I'm not getting a cold."

~~

HASNKKT!!

"Ooohh..  I gotta stop holding those in!  They really hurt!  But I can't be heard, I must stay stealthy."

~~~~~~*** Evil, aren't I? ***~~~~~~

Yes, that is the end of chapter six.  The next chapter will further document Kuno's conquest of the pig-tailed girl.

But for now, I must take my leave.

~~ Somewhere far away ~~

Azusa continues to look about the streets for the kitty that she happened across the other day.  "Oh!  I wonder where Jean-Claude went to?"

~~ Back here ~~

HACHOO!!!

Oh, man, don't tell me.  I don't want to know.

Alex: Hey, it sounds like someone's talking about you!

Lila: It's about time someone talked about him instead of me.

Locke: [Snort] What are you people doing in here?

Alex: [Big friendly smile] Nothing!  Hey, Locke!  Wanna go training!?

Locke: Huh?  Why?  Whoa-!!

Lila: I have a feeling I know where they're going.

Alex Ultra: Me too.  [Begins scratching neck, then grabs culprit hand]  STOP THAT, EVIL HAND!!!!

Lila: Awe!  Don't do that!  I love the way you blush every time you scratch your neck!

Alex Ultra: -_- Oh god.

Lila: ^.^

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

Alex and Alex Ultra

LATER


	7. Kuno's Day

            I'm back!  O.o Bout time, right?

            Well, my head hurts; so I'm just gonna get right to it.

            Reviewer Responses:

Kurai: I don't think Lila's out for a kiss.  [Stops Lila, who is holding a chainsaw]  And as for Alex, yeah... she's a she.  Her full name is Alexandra Hintuki.  (No middle name, and I tease her for that sometimes. ~_^)

            End Reviewer Responses.

            Alex: Anything witty to say?

            Alex Ultra: No.

            Alex: Whatever.

            Alex Ultra: -_-''

            On with it.

            =La la la.= Kuno's thoughts. Languages: "-English-"  "Japanese" "\Chinese\" Thoughts don't count.

            Now, is there anything else?

            No?  Okay.

            ~~~~~~***   KUNO'S DAY   ***~~~~~~

            Ranko had finally calmed down and was now playing distractedly with a rose.

            "Ah, my dear goddess.  I do believe our carriage shall be coming soon!" Ranko looked up to see Kuno offering her a hand, which she refused to take, but stood anyway.

            Sure enough, the sound of hooves clopping along the road signified the approach of an old, English style horse-drawn carriage.  'Where the heck did he find one of those in Japan?'

            "Now, allow me to carry you across the threshold and on to our night of merriment!"

            Ranko narrowed her eyes threateningly.  "No... WAY!!!"

            =His goddess looked shocked.  "But Kuno!  It's so soon!"= "Alright then, allow me to open the door for you." He opened the door and pointed her in, acting like a true English Gentleman.

            'He does realize he's Japanese, right?' Shrugging it off as the old Kuno psychosis, Ranko walked into the carriage and sat down.

~~

            "Okay Akane, it looks like we're gonna have to follow them.  Ready?"

            "Yeah, let's go." The two girls followed the carriage, musing on the style.  One was wondering where Kuno got a carriage like that in Japan; while the other was wondering what the heck that thing was doing in Japan, and why the heck all the Kuno's were so weird.

            "Akane, do you have any idea why all the Kuno's are so weird?"

            "Hehe, weird doesn't begin to describe them.  Some say it's like a family curse, I just say they're all nuts!"

            Lila smiled as she continued to follow the agonizingly slow movements of the carriage.

~~

            "-Party of one, Akari Hintuki.-"

            "-Ah, here you are.  If you'll wait at that table right there, a waiter will be with you soon.-"

            "-Thank you.-"

            The doorman followed her with his eyes.  She looked to be American, and her English accent suggested as much, but her kimono was done so well that she _had_ to have prior knowledge.

            Akari sat at a table, finding the wooden chairs to be a welcome change from all the floor-mats available around Tokyo.

~~

            "So, my young goddess.  I was pondering something.  By what name shall I call you."

            Ranko eyed him suspiciously.  She was sure he had heard her name used before, but he apparently didn't believe it.  "Ranko."

            "So that IS your name?  I must say it is a name that suits you well, but I was under the impression that that foul sorcerer had your true nature under binds such that your true name would be held in secret!"

            Ranko could only mutter to herself as Kuno dragged on.  "Baka..."

~~

            "I wonder what Kuno's doing in there?"

            "I don't know, but I'm sure it's torturing poor Ranma!"

            "Yeah!" Both girls laughed as they continued down the way.

~~

            "Ah, we have arrived!  Take my hand and we shall move on to our dinner!" Ranko frowned (for like the umpteenth time) but decided dinner would be a good thing.

~~

            "Okay, we know where they are.  So let's go inside!" Akane was about to jump down from the roof, when Lila stopped her.

            "We can't."

            "What?  Why not?"        

            "Look there, it says a reservation is required."

            "It does?  Where?"

            "Right there.  Um, maybe we should look for a window?"

            "Okay, I guess so."

~~

            As they walked in, Ranko noticed two things that surprised her.  First, Kuno was speaking in some other tongue that she didn't recognize.  When she asked what language he was speaking, he said it was English.

            The other interesting thing was the design of the place.  It had large stone-looking pillars in each corner with potted plants creating a natural, yet civilized look.  The windows had curtains pulled to the side at the middle creating a bowing effect that Ranko thought looked pretty nice.  In the middle of the large room the floor was left empty, while all around that were several tables.  To Ranko they looked a bit tall, but they were just barely tall enough to go over the top of the armrests on the large, heavy, wooden chairs that accompanied them.

            Ranko was so enthralled with the look of the place that she didn't even notice that Kuno had led her to a table and was now pulling out a chair for her.  "Please, sit, my lady."

            Ranko spun a short way around and looked at Kuno, who was now holding a seat away from the table, expecting her to sit.  She narrowed her eyes angrily and was about to shout at him when she remembered something Nabiki had told her.  'If he starts acting too nice, just go with it.  Most likely it's some kind of tradition from that place he's obsessed with.' So, without too much fuss, she sat, and Kuno pushed her into place.

~~

            "Wow, Nabiki musta seen that one coming.  Ranma didn't even yell at him!"

            Lila looked at her companion.  "Yeah, you're probably right."

~~

            Akari watched the scene as Kuno began professing his love to the heavens.  She smiled a bit as her food finally came.  Taking a pair of chopsticks and a knife, she went into her meal of... well.  It was definitely SOME kind of meat.

            Picking at the potatoes, she wondered what possessed Kuno to actually PREFER this stuff to the food he could normally get in Tokyo.

            Shrugging, she went into it.  "-Oh well.  Nothing beats a mid-western Steak.-" A small smile crossed her face before she turned her attention back to the pair sitting at table twelve.

~~

            'Someone please shoot me...' Ranko currently had her hands in a begging position with her elbows on the table, and was banging her head against said table between said elbows.  'Please, just shoot me.  Then I'd have an excuse to hit somebody!  PLEASE!!!!'

            "-_AND HOW THE GODS DOTH PORTRAY THINE IMAGE ACROSS THE HEAVENS!  FOR WHEN THOU DOTH WALK ACROSS THIS PLANET SO FAIR, THINE PERFECTION SHALL MAKE HER SHINE!-"_ A bunch of people clapped dramatically as Kuno's outburst made its way across the room.

            =The goddess Ranko continued in her begging stance.  Although she was but too shy to admit it, her stance shouted 'Encore!  Encore!  Do flatter me with more of your beautiful words!'=

            Kuno smiled, and did his best to come up with another speech to pass the time until the food came.

~~

            "Hey Lila?  How long till you think Ranma'll snap?"

            Lila looked at Ranma, currently Ranko, and the way she was trying to knock herself unconscious.  "Honestly, I don't know how she's holding back now!  By now, I would have tried to chop his head off!" As Akane smiled and looked back into the room, Lila went back to the room as well.  Her attention, however, was on the various patrons about the room.

            Scanning the room, she found about thirty people, mostly foreign, and most of which had their gazes trained on the ranting Kuno.

            There was one, however, that was neither smiling, nor watching the nut-job.

            As Lila watched, one girl in one corner deftly picked up a piece of some white vegetable, and swallowed it while never taking her eyes off Ranko.  'What's up with her?'

            Akane noticed the silence from her partner and decided to ask about it.  "What's up?"

            "Do you see that girl back there?  The one in the purple Kimono?"

            Akane looked back at her.  "Yeah... what about her?"

            "She's the only one in the room not looking at Kuno.  She seems trained on Ranko..."

            Akane looked again.  "Hmm.... you're right.  Well, whatever.  It's not like Ranko's not putting on an act either."

            Lila went back to looking around.  "What style do you think that is?  English Victorian?"

            "Huh?  Victorian?"

            "Yeah it's... oh nevermind." Akane decided to let it go as Lila went back to the window.  "I wish I knew what he was saying."

            "..."

~~

            "Ah, our meal has arrived." Kuno finally sat as a waiter brought two separate orders.

            Ranko knew she would still be rather hungry after all this, but Nabiki insisted she order rather little and eat at a slower pace.  After all, Kuno probably wouldn't steal her food like her father.

            For a while, no words were spoken as Kuno finally found something more interesting than shouting to all present about how perfect his goddess was.

~~

            Akari found her plate empty of all potatoes, which meant that it was now or never.  Taking a fork (so deftly provided, since chopsticks were not enough to hold the meat in place under such scrutiny) and a knife, she went at the unknown slab of meat.

~~

            'Wow, look at her go.  You'd think she was more afraid of doing damage to the table than to the... what the heck IS that anyway!?' Lila found herself stumped as to what that girl was eating.

            Ranko had settled for the closest thing she could find to what she thought she could eat, vegetable stew.  As for Kuno... well.  It was gone too fast for anyone to know what it was.

~~

            Kuno was happy to be free of his food.  Despite having practiced eating such... exotic foods, his taste buds still preferred the good old rice balls he had grown up on.

            Oh well, at least it was better than American food.

~~

            Ranko wasn't having too much trouble downing the food.  Sure, it had different spices than what she was used to, and there was no rice, but hey, at least it was better than American food.

~~

            Akari was having a bit of trouble getting past the taste of this still-unnamed slab of meat.

            Oh, what she wouldn't have done for a good-old hamburger!  Or a rib-eye steak, smothered in bar-b-cue sauce, with just a hint of lemon and a sprig of parsley.

            She only barely realized she was drooling before she caught herself.  'Darnit!  I miss American food!  Though I guess a rice-ball would still be good...' As she mused over this, Kuno had decided it was good to simply sit quietly.

~~

            Ranko, for not the first time, was happy to hear... nothing!  She felt she could almost meditate in this silence!

            In fact... it was almost TOO silent.  There was something missing...

            What could it be?

            Well, Kuno was silent, but that couldn't be it.  That kind of silence was MORE than welcome.

            No, rather, it was the fact that no one was talking!  No one in the entire building was saying a darn thing.  There was no murmur of people whispering to each other, or couples swooning over each other.

            Suddenly alert, Ranko quickly scanned the room.  She could tell no one was talking, and a lot of people were looking to one corner of the room.  She could tell that they were calm, which meant that nothing terrible was about to happen.  'Darnit... I was hoping something was gonna happen.'

            Shifting her gaze to the side of the room where everyone was staring, she noticed a stage.  It had beforehand been concealed by a large rug, which was now bundled near the roof.

            "Ah, so the night's entertainment has arrived."

            "Huh?"

            "I suggest we simply enjoy the show.  I am sure it will be much more entertaining than our feast."

            Ranko was in shock!  For once, Kuno was acting like a human being!

            As this registered in her mind, Ranko turned to the stage, prepared to watch the goings on.

~~

            "What are they looking at?"

            "I'm not totally sure, but I think they're waiting for something to get up on that stage over there."

            "Where?"

            "That side."

            "Oh..."

            "Hmm... looks like it's some kind of show... wonder what kind?"

            Akane only watched, not bothering to ask any questions.

~~

            Akari just watched.  She had noticed the stage, and had decided it was more interesting than her meat, which laid there, half-eaten.

~~

            As most of the room sat in suspense, a couple of men came out on stage.

            Both were in fancy uniforms, and they soon started talking.  As they spoke, Kuno translated.  "-Ladies and Gentlemen.  We are pleased to announce the arrival of tonight's show.  We would like you to give your greetings to the magic mysteries!-"

            "It is a magic show.  There shouldn't need be much more explanation from here on."

            Ranko simply shrugged it off as chauvinism.  Magic shows were always all pizzazz and no magic.

            To start, two other men in silken uniforms walked confidently onto the stage.  "-Tonight, we have prepared a wonderful show.-" As the first man said this, the other man said the same thing in Japanese.  "-So please sit back, relax, and watch the magic!-"

            From there the two went into a series of cheesy magic tricks, most of which involved small white birds and rags.

            "-And now, for my next series, I will require the presence of my _lovely_ assistant, Ramona!-" They went into a showy stance showing that they didn't actually expect her to come out.  "-Oh, Ramona?-"

            "-Don't worry, I'll go get her.-"

            "-Let me help you!-" The taller man suddenly pulled out a big, silken, red cape and swung it around.  After a second or so, he dramatically waved it in front of the other man, who had his hands up in the air just as dramatically.

            When the cape went away there only stood a tall woman in a long red gown.

            "-How did they do that!?-"

            Ranko couldn't make out what was being said around her, but she was pretty sure she got the gist of it; they were trying to figure out how the trick had been performed.

            Ranko just barely noticed a rope just above the spot where there now stood a woman was waving just slightly.

            They didn't waste any time getting on with their act as the woman took the other end of the red cape the man had been waving only seconds before.

            They flung it into the air and allowed it to come down to the floor, when they pulled it up there stood a large metal cage.

            Before anyone could wonder where the cage came from or why it was empty, the two covered it again.

            Ranko watched as they pulled it away again, to reveal a fully-grown Bengal tiger.

            As most of the audience was going through their 'ooh's and 'ahh's, Ranko had begun to sweat.

            Her eyes bugged and she found herself short of breath.  She tried to form a word, but found herself stuck on the first letter.  "C-c-c..."

            Within seconds the two on stage had the tiger and its cage covered again.

            Ranko took a breath of relief and turned around in her seat.  Why would they bring such a LARGE cat there?

            Another set of applause from the crowd caused her to turn around.

            And there it was.  A fully-grown Bengal tiger, without its cage.

            And Ranko was on her feet, slowly backing away from the creature that suddenly seemed to have cornered her.

            Kuno noticed her distress, and the way she seemed to be in immense fear of the large, powerful creature not twenty feet away.  It was an understandable thing.

            Not one for calming, Kuno's chivalrous nature kicked in as he did the only thing he could think of.  He picked his goddess off the ground and carried her away from the beast that was frightening her.

~~

            CRASH!!!

            "AAHH!!" Akane and Lila both jumped back in surprise as Kuno leapt out the very window they were looking in on.

~~

            Ranko didn't know what to think.  One second she was staring down a very LARGE cat, and the next second, something had picked her up and taken her from said cat.  Unconsciously, the connection was made.  Whatever it was that was carrying her was taking her away from the cat.

            Still in shock, she clasped onto whatever she could get her arms around.  Which happened to be Kuno.

~~

            CLICK!!  CLICK!  CLICKCLICKCLICK!!

            "Wow, this is perfect!" The one girl who hadn't expected to be getting any pictures, considering a couple of girls had taken her window, was now getting a barrage of photos off as the two raced not even ten feet by her. 

~~

            Akari heard a loud crash as some maniac decided it would be a good idea to jump out a window.

            RROOAARR!!

            The tiger was spooked by the sudden noise, and was now thrashing about on stage as his trainers attempted to calm him.

            Silently cursing the idiot who decided it a good idea to jump out the window, she got up.  "-Don't move!  It's just scared!  It won't attack if everyone calms down!-" But it was useless, the entire room was in chaos now as the tiger slowly made its way down off the stage.  'Darnit!  Why me?'

            Walking slowly up to the tiger, she started talking to it.  "Come now.  There's no need to be frightened.  Calm down." Going slowly to one knee, she made sure to capture all of the beast's attention.  "I'm not going to hurt you, so you can calm down now." Being careful not to look him in the eye, she did her best to direct his attention onto her.

            'Darnit!  I really hate it... but here goes.' With a bit more gusto than was absolutely necessary, she extended a calming aura that washed over the whole building.

            Her target was literally all the people in the room, as well as the tiger itself.

            "It's okay.  Just calm down."  With one hand, she motioned toward the floor in front of her.  "Come and sit with me."

            The tiger slowly walked up to her, and sat not two feet from her.

            She put up one hand, and the tiger did the same, putting his paw against her palm.  Her whispering became so soothing that most of the people still in the building had returned to their seats.  "It's okay."

            She gave a look to the men still up on the stage.  Nodding her head, she turned back to the tiger, and slowly stood.  "I have to go now, but don't worry.  Your trainers will help you away."  A number of people nodded as she stood, allowing the men to take up the slack and lead the animal back to the stage.

            Cursing her luck, Akari paid her tab, and walked out, while being given strange and appreciative looks from nearly everyone in the building.  She even got the flash of cameras every so often.

            Intending to follow Kuno, she went back to her car.

            'Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.  That idiot.  Why'd he have to go and spook him?'

~~

            Kuno could barely think straight.  He wasn't sure where he was going, but he felt neither need nor want to have this moment end.  He was being embraced by his love!  His goddess was holding him close.

            His conquest was complete.  He had accomplished the impossible.

            He had defeated that fool Saotome.

            ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter 7   ***~~~~~~

            Well, that's it for this chapter.  Was it good?  Was it what you expected?  Did you like it?

            Hehe, I know I did!  ^.^

            Well, Kuno's conquest has come, but the night's still not quite over!  What's next?  Who knows?  Heck, Kuno doesn't even know right now!  He's off in LaLa Land right now.  O.o

            Well, that's it for now, bye all!

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

            Alex and Alex Ultra

                        LATER


	8. True to Word

                Ha, I'm back again!  Ain't no gettin rid of me!  O.o Not that many people WANT to...

                Right.  Now, to get on with some things I want to say.

                First, well, I'm not sure what I want to say first, so I'll just say this.  Right now, I am typing this on a different computer than I am used to.  I have managed to get a somewhat usable computer with Windows 95 and a really old version of Microsoft Works to write this stuff without being interrupted (as much).  The computer is slow and isn't really any good for anything else, and I may end up with too much trouble from the floppy disks I'll be using to transfer this stuff to keep going this way.  It won't really affect my writing TOO much, but I felt that just needed to be said.

                Second, well, it has more to do with me than anything else.  I have a problem with having a short attention span.  I'm not Ryoga material, but I do tend to get distracted.  The only affect this has on this stuff is that I will sometimes come up with new ideas for fics and work on them for a while and leave older ones to gather dust for a while.  In fact, I'm doing that now.  But that's beside the point.  What was the point?  I'm not exactly sure, but whatever.

                Also, for the time being I won't be doing any more Reviewer Responses.  They're just getting to be a nuisance.  O.o I think tiredness may have something to do with that, I'm not sure.

                Now, I can't really think of anything else to say... so I might as well get on with the typing.  O.o Wow, the clicking of these keys sounds like a cheap typewriter.  

                Random Guy: What's a typewriter?

                Alex Ultra: Uh... it's like a manual printer.  You can't save your work and they went the way of the dinosaurs as soon as computers came around.  In other words, it ended up in my possession and was my only keyboard for a long while.  It had a tendency to jam up and was really annoying the way it clacked with each hit of the key.  Lots of movies would depict a busy office by having a lot of people (women mostly) typing on typewriters and the collective clicking was rather loud.  O.o Shoot, what was I doing again?

                Right, now I need to continue this before I do that again.

                ~~~~~~***   TRUE TO WORD   ***~~~~~~

                Kuno was enjoying the attention Ranko seemed to be giving him.

                That is, until he noticed that he couldn't breathe.

                Stopping to catch his bearings, he looked down at the suddenly uncomfortable bundle around his chest.  Ranko had latched on tight, and didn't look to be letting go soon.  When he tried to speak, his normally strong voice came out only as a weak rasping.  "...excuse me... it's okay now!"

                Seeing no response he took a chance and used his now-free left hand to tap her on the head.

                Finally taking notice of her surroundings, Ranko opened her eyes and looked around for the source of the tapping.  Looking up she saw a strange sight.

                There was Kuno, looking slightly puffy and totally blue with bulging eyes and a goofy smile.

                "Eee!" Surprised by the sight, Ranko let go of whatever it was she had been holding on to.  At the last second she noticed that there was nothing beneath her and managed to get one hand on a handhold, which happened to be the shoulder of Kuno's suit.

                Finally able to breathe, Kuno noticed the tug on his shirt and offered his hand as a support for her back as he let Ranko down to the ground.

                Ranko shook off the creepy feeling, having only just now realized what she had been holding onto.  Looking Kuno directly in the eye, she made her intentions clear.  "Let's get one thing straight.  THAT never happened.  Okay?"

                Kuno bowed overdramatically.  "Do not worry.  I understand your shyness, therefore, no one shall know of this but you and I."

                'Great.  That means by the end of the week the whole school will know...' Forming a rather large sweatdrop, she sighed.  "Alright Kuno.  What kind of torture do you have for me now?"

                =Sighing in relief, knowing her shyness would not be challenged, the goddess Ranko looked to Kuno.  "Okay Kuno.  What kind of activity have you so cleverly planned for us next?"=

                With a smile, Kuno offered his elbow.  "Allow me to show you.  I shall alert the carriage as to our location."

                Ranko refused the elbow, but walked to the street anyway as Kuno followed behind.

                Once there Kuno removed something that looked to be a tube of some kind.  Pointing one end into the air, he pulled on a string that was sticking out the side.  Immediately a bright ball erupted from the end of the tube and rocketed into the air where it burned brightly for a good amount of time.

~~

                It didn't take long for the driver to notice the flare burning above the city skyline.  He immediately took note of the color, location, and direction and made an estimate of Kuno's location and intentions.  He wanted the carriage to pick him up.

                Good, because he didn't want to have to go back and get the tank.

~~

                Akane and Lila had gotten their bearings rather quickly after Kuno's little outburst and were now watching Kuno fire the flare.  They had missed the landing, but could tell that Ranko wasn't happy.

~~

                Nabiki wasn't happy.  Her trailers weren't in the area Kuno was currently in.  He had suddenly run off and Nabiki wasn't even sure where they were right now.

                As she picked up the girls, she hoped that at least one of them had caught him leaving and could give directions.

~~

                Ranko was bored.  The wait for the carriage was getting to take too long and she was hungry.

                Stupid magic shows.  Why did they always have to have a tiger?

                Running like the devil was after it, the carriage arrived not seven minutes after Kuno fired his flare.

                Taking her seat, Ranko sighed and looked out the window.  'How can this night POSSIBLY get any worse?'

                "Now James, take us to the theatre."

                "Yes sir." As they started on their way, James began to speak.  "Master Kuno.  When I heard that window shatter, I was afraid I would be seeing a blue flare."

                "Ah, it was nothing."

                "Why, what's so great about the blue flare?" Ranko was beginning to get curious.

                "Oh, nothing much.  That's how Kuno signals that he wants the tank brought to him."

                "TANK!?!?"

                Kuno decided to pick up the slack.  "Yes, it is a little safety measure in case that sorcerer Saotome decides to show his face."

                Ranko had blue in her face.  "Oh, I see."  She could now honestly say she was scared.

                Not of the tank, or that Kuno was crazy enough to GET one in the middle of Tokyo!  Rather, she was beginning to fear FOR Kuno!

                She never knew he was so stupid!  Did he honestly believe a TANK could stop HIM!?

                Making a mental note to herself, Ranko decided that Ranma needed to teach Kuno a lesson about himself.  It would take more than a tank to take him out, especially with how slow they were!

~~

                Nabiki pulled up to the Theatre she knew Kuno had been planning to attend.  She didn't really know exactly what her photographers could get in there, seeing as how cameras were forbidden.  But she figured she might be able to get some kind of interesting stories in there.

~~

                "Aaaughhhh!!!" Ranko yawned as she did her best to stay awake during the show.  It turned out that Kuno had arranged for them to watch a show made after the works of some 'Shaking Spear' guy.  Ranko had no idea who or what Kuno was talking about, but found the show to be incredibly boring, as she couldn't understand a single word.  Anyone who didn't know English was forced to read the captions at the bottom.  (A/N: HA!  Sweet revenge!!!)

                Kuno was right about one thing, it did sound better in English.  Whatever those people on the screen were saying, it definitely had some kind of rhythm to it.  While the captions at the bottom made it sound like total gibberish.

                After three separate shows, the theatre finally closed and the two were standing outside.  Ranko was now yawning, as she had fallen asleep not even halfway through the show.

                "Okay Kuno.  Are we done yet?" Climbing into the carriage and sitting in her usual spot, she turned to Kuno, too tired to be angry.

                "Of course.  If you tell me where I would be able to take you, I could leave you at your 'home'." The way Kuno stressed the word 'home' told Ranko that Kuno would probably not really believe that that was where she belonged.

                She was too tired to argue or be creative.  "Just take me to the Tendo's."

                Kuno smiled.  'So THAT'S where Saotome's been keeping her!'  "Of course.  James?"

                James sighed at the nickname Kuno had given him, but complied.  'Can't he call me by my real name?  Jamiso is NOT that hard to pronounce...  Sometimes I wonder why he picked me for this job...'  "Let's go Sterling.  We have a bit of a trip ahead of us."  The horse whinnied as they started on their way.

~~

                Akane and Lila had already decided that there was nothing to see at the theatre and were waiting at the house.  As Lila beat on a sandbag, Akane busied herself with some katas.

                The sound of a horse's shoes clopping against the road told the two that Ranko's night of torture was finally over.

                The both of them walked back to the house to greet Ranko at the door.

~~

                Ranko never knew she could be so happy to be walking to the Tendo's door.

                As soon as the door was opened Ranko fell inside, trying to avoid Kuno's face as he tried to finish the night in the way he thought proper.  "Uh, hi, Kasumi!  I'm just gonna go get changed now."

                "Good evening Ran...ko?" Kasumi wasn't even able to finish her welcome before Ranko had disappeared around a corner in her effort to escape from Kuno's madness.

~~

                Akane and Lila had to move out of the way as Ranko came running down the hall.

                Once they got to the main room Akane looked around, trying to find the demons that were on Ranko's heels. "Ah, fair Akane!  To think that I would be directed to thine place of living when taking my fair Ranko home.  And fair Lila as well?  Either Saotome is a bigger demon than I had previously believed, or this house is truly blessed!" Both girls sweatdropped.  It was obvious what had Ranko running like the devil was after her.  After all, even the Devil had nothing on Kuno.

                Kuno looked around, as if suddenly thinking of something.  "And just where IS that foul sorcerer?"

                Kasumi smiled a bit.  "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."  Looking at Akane she signaled her intent, then turned back to Kuno.  "Can I offer you a cup of tea?"

                "Ah, how I would love to accept such a gesture, but I'm afraid I must be on my way home as soon as I speak with Ranma." Kuno smiled as Kasumi nodded and went to make herself a glass of tea.

                As she did, Suon turned to his newest guest.  "So, Kuno is it?" Kuno nodded. "I trust the night went... smoothly?"

                "Ah, yes.  I'm afraid I cannot go into the specifics, but I assure you it went rather well." Kuno had a smile on his face that said that he had enjoyed it.

~~

                Akane walked in on Ranko, who was currently fighting with the kimono to get it off without messing it up TOO much.

                "Hey Ranko.  Kuno wants to talk with Ranma." She turned the water in the sink to hot and let it warm before looking back at Ranko, who was now trying to put her favorite red shirt on.

                "If he wants to talk to me, he may as well call that tank of his because I'm about ready to SERIOUSLY give him a beating!"

                "Okay, but turn back into Ranma first."

                "Oh... right.  That might help." Ranko dunked an arm under the running water and immediately pulled his hand back out.

                Adjusting his clothes so they weren't quite so tight in the waist, Ranma rolled up both sleeves and started walking out to the main area to meet with Kuno.

                Akane was watching him go as she thought of something to herself.  "Tank?"

~~

                Kuno noticed a slight stomping sound and turned to the hallway to see Ranma coming down said hallway.  "So Kuno, what do you want?"

                Kuno smiled at the sight.  Ranma was obviously holding back his anger.  "Ah, Ranma.  I just wanted to congratulate on not showing up tonight." Ranma narrowed his eyes.  "Although I would have loved to have put you in your place, I was pleasantly surprised to not see you during the entire duration of mine and Ranko's time tonight." Standing, he looked Ranma down again.  "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to say goodnight to fair Ranko before I take my leave."

                Akane was about to drag Ranma down the hall when Ranma got up of his own accord.  "If it will get you out of here, I'll get her." Turning with his arms crossed in front of him, he started down the hall.

                But Kuno jumped in front of him, stopping his progress.  "Knave!!!  Do not disturb a lady as she undresses!"

                Ranma narrowed his eyes dangerously, making even the 'Great' Tatewaki Kuno second think his actions.  "Kuno... she's my _sister!!_"

                Kuno was too shocked to think.  'His... SISTER!?!?'  As Kuno stood there like a strange statue, Ranma continued down the hall.

                Akane pulled Kuno back into the living area and pushed him down into a seat, if only to get him out of the hallway.

                Sip.  Shuffle.  Shuffle.  Grunt.

                Akane was just about to get up and find out what was keeping Ranma when Ranko popped around the corner wearing a towel on her head.  "WHAT _is it_, Kuno?"

                Kuno stood quickly upon hearing the voice of his goddess call out to him.  "Ah, fair Ranko.  I wished only to wish you a good night.  As well as express my sincere hope that you enjoyed our evening together." He bowed overdramatically, yet again, and looked her in the face, yet again, smiling that overly inviting smile.

                Ranko frowned.  "Uh huh.  I'll see you later Kuno." Ranko walked off, waving him off.

                =Ranko seemed displeased with the departure.  "Oh yes.  I look forward to our next meeting Kuno." She then turned away to do... whatever it is girls do after a date.= Kuno smiled happily.  "Good night to all.  I must take my leave now." With another bow, he walked backwards out of the house and to the carriage.  His night was a success.  (In his mind.)

~~

                Akane found Ranko in the bathroom; she was in a nearly complete stage of undress and had warm water running in the tub.  "Stupid Kuno.  Next time we fight, I'm going to have to fight myself just to keep from KILLING him!" Akane screamed a bit as a certain pair of shorts hit her in the face.  "Oh, hey Akane.  What's up?"

                Akane pulled the shorts off her head and looked angrily at the redhead.  "Next time, don't throw your clothes.  And try shutting the door?"

                "Oh yeah.. I was getting to that!" Akane beat her to it and shut the door behind her.  "What's up Akane?" Ranko backed into the tub and let the change take place.  Ranma then decided to sit in the water and let Akane say what she would.

                Akane still didn't look happy, but she didn't look ready to kill him either.  And that was a good sign.  "Ranma, I wanted to congratulate you.  You managed to deal with Kuno without killing him."  Smiling, she turned around and looked over her shoulder at him.  "You're going to have to teach me that trick one of these days..." Without another word, she closed the door behind her as she walked out.

                'Hmm... I wonder what that was about?' Ranma shrugged it off and went on with his attempt to clean off that dirty feeling he'd had all night.

                ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter 8   ***~~~~~~

                How was that?  I think it was quite adequate.  Not as good as the last chapter, but good in its own right anyway.

                Alex Ultra: You know... I never noticed it before.  But did you know there's a little Lincoln in the memorial on the back of the pennies?

                Alex: Why are you looking that closely at a penny?

                Alex Ultra: ^_^ Cause it's shiny!

                [Lila and Alex fall over] Both: Ow.

                Alex Ultra: I was serious when I said I get distracted easily... ^.^''

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	9. Sunday Morning

                I'm back again.

                Well, I don't really have a whole lot to say this time around, so I'll just get around to it.

                ~~~~~~***   SUNDAY MORNING   ***~~~~~~

                I had an idea.  I didn't know exactly what it was, or where I had gotten it from.  But in the middle of the night I had a dream that was so... interesting, I suppose that my mind had decided to remember it for some reason.

                It involved both Ranma and Akane.

                Sneaking into Ranma's room, I nudged the martial artist awake, so as to not disturb his father. "Ranma, wake up!"

                Grunting and rolling over, he turned a groggy eye to me.  For some reason he shot awake and began backing away.  "Aah!!  Where is she!?"

                I frowned, I was sure he was talking about Akane.  "Ranma, be quiet or you'll wake your father!"

                "Huh?" Looking down he noticed that his father wasn't awake yet.  "What time is it?"

                "It's about four in the morning." I looked at him and motioned for him to follow me out of the room.  "And to answer your question, I believe she's still in bed."

                Obviously relieved that Akane wasn't going to mallet him, he sighed then turned around.  "Well, let me get my clothes on first."

                I looked at him, he was in boxers and a tank-top.  "Good plan.  I'll be up on the roof when you're done." Going slowly, I made my way out of the room, not even listening to his mumblings about it being early even for him.

                I waited outside for him, and sure enough, he jumped up on the roof within the next five minutes.  "So what's up to get me up so early?"

                I waited for him to sit down next to me, then I started in the most intelligent way I could.  "Ranma, you want to be the strongest, right?" 

                Nodding, he answered.  "Yeah, wouldn't anyone?"

                "Yeah, I guess.  But I mean... going to great lengths to get as strong as you possibly can?" Again, he nodded.  He didn't say another word, but was urging me to go on.  "Well..." I found myself fighting to find the words I wanted to express.  "Well...  what if... What if you weren't so strong?"

                "Well, I'd try to get stronger." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

                I sighed, deciding that train of though wasn't getting me anywhere fast.  "Okay... what about Akane?"

                "What about her?" He turned away and scowled at the ground.  "Stupid tomboy never gives me a moment of peace."

                "Well... why do you think she's always so angry at you?" I was trying to hit a hook.

                "I don't know.  She never let's me say my part before hitting me."

                "Your part in what?"

                "Well, she's always callin me a pervert and then not givin me a chance to explain."

                I then but an idea into action.  "Well, what if she DID give you the chance to explain?"

                "Well, she does sometimes.  But then she somehow twists what I say so that she gets mad and does the same thing anyway." He sighed dejectedly.  "Or I start on the wrong foot and she gets mad because of that." Grumping slightly, he finished.  "Either way she never lets me finish and never listens to the whole thing."

                I looked at him.  "Well, if she DID listen to the whole thing, do you think she would react the same way?"

                "Heck if I know!"

                I sighed, not exactly sure how to say what I wanted to say.  "Look, Ranma.  I want to ask you something."

                "What's that?"

                "I'm going to try and get Akane to hold her anger in check.  To not act so quickly when things look bad and listen actively to your explanation." He looked at me interested.  "But!"

                His look of interest turned to a frown.  "But what?"

                "But, in exchange, I want your promise that there WILL be an explanation.  Even if it's as absurd as 'Shampoo came and latched on.'  Which, by the way, I've noticed happens a lot." I looked him in the eye, he seemed a bit relieved.

                "Deal."

                "Good.  But here's how it'll work, okay?  If you explain it to her and she still freaks out, I wanna hear the story.  And then if I don't like it either, we will both chase you down and give you the beating of your life." I noticed a sweatdrop on the side of his head.

                "Oh!  Well, um, not that I'm doubting that you could, but what makes you think you could give me the beating of my LIFE?  I've had some pretty severe beatings in my time!" I think the only thing that kept him from laughing nervously was the fact that everyone was still sleeping just below him.

                I smiled maliciously.  "Torture, both mental and physical, is something that I'm rather well read on."

                He smiled, wide eyed with his teeth clenched and a sweatdrop climbing down the back of his head.  Just the reaction I was looking for.  "Oh!  Okay!  Hehehehe!!" After a few seconds, he calmed down.  "Is there anything else, or is that it?"

                I turned to him, and shook my head.  "Uh uh.  There's one more thing."

                "And what's that?"

                "Trust."

                "Huh?"

                "I think it would help her to trust you if you were to help her with something."

                "Oh?  And what's that?"

                Smiling, I turned to him.  "Train her, Ranma.  Help her get stronger.  It seems that you just dance around her and never really help her get any stronger or better.  The very fact that you don't take her seriously makes her resent you."

                He frowned.  "But I don't want to hurt her."

                "I didn't say you didn't have to hold back.  I said take her seriously." His puzzled expression told me he had no idea where I was coming from.  "Look, here's some suggestions.  Try blocking a hit or two, rather than dodging every one.  Actively try to find those things that she could use to improve.  Take her with you when you go to train.  And maybe you could give her a hit from time to time?" As he noted these in his head (hopefully), I thought up some other things.  I tried to come up with as many suggestions as I could.  "Look, the point is, don't be so condescending."

                He looked at me with a puzzled expression.  "Con... dee...?"

                "It means don't just put her down, it'll just make her resent you more.  Like instead of just telling her she's doing it wrong.  Actually point out what she's doing right, then move on to exactly what she's doing wrong and how she can fix it.  Get it?"

                He nodded.  "Everything except that word." He laid back on the roof.  "I can try, but I'm not exactly a good teacher."

                I smiled.  "Like father like son?"

                He scowled a bit.  "Yeah.  Except he never held back.  He went into it swinging."

                "Yeah, it seems like it.  Especially with your morning spars.  He never seems to let off the gas where you're concerned."

                "Uh huh." He stayed silent for a little while, then spoke up again while staring at the starry sky. "I'm not so sure."

                "About what?"

                "Taking her on a training trip.  I mean, my mother never wanted pops to take me on our trip.  I don't think her dad would let her go."

                I smiled.  "Ranma, I think Suon would be so happy you're taking her out together that he'll be more than ready to agree.  I think her sisters will be harder to convince than either of your fathers."

                His eyes took on a shocked look. "Uhh, I guess you're right about that."

                I smiled and stood.  "Okay, I'm gonna go now."

                "Go where?"

                "To bed!  I mean, come on!  It's way too early to be awake on a Sunday.  Even for you."

                "Which reminds me... Why DID you get me up so early?"

                "To talk.  I wanted to be absolutely sure Akane wouldn't find us talking or she would have gotten the wrong idea and probably have blown the whole thing out of the sky before it got off the ground.  And besides that, I couldn't get back touickly when things look bad and listen actively to your explanation." He looked at me interested.  "But!"

                His look of interest turned to a frown.  "But what?"

                "But, in exchange, I want your promise that there WILL be an explanation.  Even if it's as absurd as 'Shampoo came and latched on.'  Which, by the way, I've noticed happens a lot." I looked him in the eye, he seemed a bit relieved.

                "Deal."

                "Good.  But here's how it'll work, okay?  If you explain it to her and she still freaks out, I wanna hear the story.  And then if I don't like it either, we will both chase you down and give you the beating of your life." I noticed a sweatdrop on the side of his head.

                "Oh!  Well, um, not that I'm doubting that you could, but what makes you think you could gort-term plan.

~~ Later that Morning ~~

                "Where are you boy!?!?!" Genma was looking for his son, at least that was the feeling I got when he knocked down our door shouting.  "Are you in here with your fiancee?"

                At the moment I wanted to pull an Akane and freak out on him, but I was a bit too tired to really do much so I just sat up in bed and looked at the noisy intrusion.  "Mr. Saotome, isn't it a bit early?"

                "Have either of you seen my son?" Akane shook her head no and I just played dumb, which wasn't too hard in my groggy stupor.

                Akane did choose to say something, however, upon noticing that her door was on the floor.  "Excuse me, but why are you standing on my door?"

                Giving Akane a look that almost suggested that he just then noticed where he was, he looked down.  "Ah!  Sorry about that.  I'll leave you two alone, it's obvious Ranma isn't in here."  For a moment there he reminded me of Ranma when caught in a corner.

                On his way out he managed to put the door in a position where it would work again.  "BOY!!  WHERE ARE YOU!?!?"

                I sighed, by now the entire house was awake.

                Turning to Akane I decided to ask the only question I could really think of at the moment.  "So Akane, what do you think?"

                She looked at me tiredly.  "I'm too tired to be angry, ask me later." Grumpily, she re-spread her blanket and rolled on her side.  Within a couple of minutes I could tell she was already asleep again, despite all the commotion.

~~

                Ranma was running around the town, he needed to put his plan into action.  And to do that, he needed to find a certain someone.

                But it was too early.  The high pitched shrieks that normally alerted people to his presence were not yet being made.

~~

                Having gotten dressed earlier (and not bothering to change again) I decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.

                When I got there I found Kasumi making tea and Nabiki pouring over some books.  Suon was conspicuously absent.

                Of course, it always seemed as if he was absent anyway.

                Accepting the offered glass of tea I made myself a little something with what I found in the kitchen.

                Kasumi was sipping her own glass of tea.  "I wonder where Ranma may have gone?" I only shrugged.  After all, the last time I had seen him he was still on the roof.  But I couldn't feel his presence there so that couldn't be it.

                After a little while I had finished my breakfast and decided to check up on Akane.

                Walking up to the room I noticed passingly that Genma was in his shared room meditating, having given up on searching for his son.

                Upon arriving at the door to Akane's room I noticed a yellow slip of paper taped to the front at about head level.

                                "Pops.  I'm not in here so don't even bother looking.  I've gone out to think

                for a little while so don't look for me.  I shouldn't be gone too long.

                                                                Ranma

                I'm sure a vein in my forehead popped upon reading the note, which had a rather well defined footprint on the print.  "Was this here the whole time?!?!"  Fighting myself to keep from crumpling the note I knocked lightly on Akane's door.  "Akane?  You awake yet?"

                On the other side I heard a little shuffling and then Akane's voice rang up.  "Yeah, you can come in."

                Opening the door with note in hand I noticed Akane fighting with a pair of pants that went to her gi.

                I stood quietly for a few seconds before commenting on the first thing I noticed.  I smiled slyly to increase the effect of the teasing.  "Hey, I love the bed-head look!"

                She looked up at me, distracted for a moment, then leaned back to get a reflection from the mirror on the back of her desk.  "... Okay, I guess I could use a bath."

                "You and me both." I smiled cheerfully, then switched to a serious mood.  "But first, I need to show this to everyone."

                Looking at the note, Akane finally managed to get her pants up.  "What is it?"

                "A note Ranma left... to his father... on your door."

                "Why on my door?"

                "I think because he knew he'd look here, for some reason." Tying a belt around her waist, Akane walked out of the room.

                "Well, I just don't want any part of it.  Ranma can go off and do whatever any time he wants." As she walked away I decided to go downstairs and into the living room.  Once there I gave the note to Nabiki, told her where I found it, and went back upstairs.

                Judging by Akane's good mood and the fact that she had changed into her gi, I surmised that she was in the dojo beating the tar out of some dummies with pig-tails while yelling "RANMA YOU JERK!!" over and over by now.

                Grabbing some clips and stuff for my hair, and another set of clothes, I walked off to the bathroom.

~~

                "So where do you think he went?" Nabiki was trying to find any clues to his whereabouts from what was on the note.  But the only thing she could come up with was that it was written rather early in the morning, even before Ranma had done any Katas.  This was evident in the blocky straight-line way it was written.  It was still his handwriting, but he was obviously tired when he wrote it.  Or at least not fully awake.

                "I don't know.  Really, he could be anywhere." Kasumi was washing some dishes that had been dirtied during the course of the morning.  Most of the residents tried to clean their dishes when they were done, but Kasumi could always find dirt on the dishes even after they were done with them.  She was beginning to think it might just be her imagination.

                Suon had finally awoken, being startled from bed by the sound of dishes clanking together. His first words were rather interesting.  "Do you have to do that so loudly?  I'm a really light sleeper you know..."

                Kasumi looked at Suon, and then at Nabiki, who did the same as her sister.  After only a couple seconds looking at eachother, they both began laughing.

                Suon was totally baffled.  "What?"

~~

                Slowly, I sank into the hot water.

                For once, I felt relaxed.  For a rare moment since I came here I felt... at peace?  Nah, I got that while I meditated.  But whatever it was, it did feel better.  I swore I could literally feel the tension flowing out of my joints.

                As I sat there, I made a conscious effort to tune out all the noise that surrounded me.

                'How am I going to talk to Akane about this?  I said I would...  But Ranma better keep his part of the deal.'

                CLICK.

                The sound of the door clicking shut got my attention.  I hadn't even noticed someone approaching, but there stood Akane, carrying a change of clothes and a towel, having just then closed the door.

                I was so shocked that I couldn't think well enough to form any words.  So, instead, I simply managed to choke out a few syllables.  "Er, eh, uh."

                When she heard me speak she turned around quickly, probably expecting Ranma or something.  "Oh, hi Lila!  I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here."

                She was just about to leave when I stopped her.  "No... wait."  As she turned around, she saw me fighting to get the words out.  "Stay here, I wanna talk with you anyway." I was sweating rather hard, and it wasn't because of the heat.

                "Are you sure?"

                I nodded, doing my best to calm down.  "Yeah." I looked at her, doing my best so smile.  "Hey, I gotta get used to it sometime, don't I?"

                "I guess so." She nodded, putting her stuff down on the counter.  She then walked over to the side of the tub, and sat down.  "So?"

                I looked her over and raised one eyebrow.  "You gonna get in?"

                She also raised one eyebrow.  "Do you want me to?"

                I leaned back, putting my hands behind my head and closing my eyes. "If you want to.  And if you like, I can keep my eyes closed."

                She sighed.  "Do whatever." Mostly out of... respect?  Well, maybe that and a little bit of boredom mixed with embarrasment, I kept my eyes closed as she shuffled around a bit.

                After a little while I heard a splash and the water level rose, signifying that Akane had gotten in. "You can open your eyes now."

                I sighed, but kept my eyes closed for a bit longer.  "You know... I feel like I could fall asleep right here."

                I could hear a bit of a tone in her voice. "Are you going to open your eyes?"

                "I don't know.  Do you want me to open them?" I smiled and opened one eye to look across at her.

                "I don't really care." She mimicked my pose, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back.

                For a moment, I sat there quietly.  Then I asked a question that had been bugging me.  "I have a question.  Why are you so comfortable with me?"

                "What do you mean?"

                "What I mean is...  You do know I was a boy right?" I avoided using the present 'am' since it was rather clear that I wasn't.

                She sighed.  "Well you sure don't act like it."

                That got my interest.  "What do you mean?" I looked her in the eye.

                "Well, for one thing, unlike most boys, you look me in the face," she pointed to her face, "rather than down here." she then pointed at her breast.

                I smiled despite myself.  "You know, that reminds me of something..." I looked up at the ceiling.

                I couldn't even see her face, but I could tell she was trying to blink away some confusion.  "Of what?"

                Still smiling that smile you get when you're only slightly amused, I looked at her and gave my reply.  "Of a shirt, believe it or not!"  I could tell immediately that she was even now more confused.  "Yeah.  It's a girl's shirt and right over the breasts it says 'Hey!  My face is up here!' and then it has an arrow pointing up."

                Then it was her turn to smile.  "I think I gotta get me one of those!"

                We both got a little chuckle out of that, my embarrasment forgotten.

                Then she spoke up again.  "Now I have a question for you."

                "Hmm?"

                "Why are you so shy?  About this I mean?  Do you have problems being around girls?"

                I shook my head no.  "No.  I've been around girls a lot.  I've even been within close proximity of nearly-naked girls." I looked down embarrasedly.  "The difference is that none of those times was I either naked OR a girl."

                "Oh!" Within seconds her attitude soured just a little.  "Are you saying there's something WRONG with being a girl?"

                "WHAT?  NO!  Different?  Yes.  Wrong?  No."

                "Oh!  I get it!  So you're embarrased for yourself!  Not because you can see me, but because I can see you!"

                My already red face reddened a bit more as I nodded.  "Yea.  That's the up and down of it."

                "The what?"

                "The up and down.  You know, like the in and out?  Inside and outside?  Backward and forward?" Seeing no comprehension on her face I went a little farther.  "It means that's all of it.  That's the subject when looked at both up and down.  Like knowing something from top to bottom, inside and outside.  Knowing it backward and forward."  That got a little more out of her.

                "Oh, okay, I get it." Then she decided to change the subject.  "So what did you want to talk to me about anyway?"

                'Shoot, I almost forgot about that.' "Well, it has to do with Ranma..."

~~

                Akari got out of bed, not really ready to do anything, but not quite feeling like staying in bed any longer.

                'I wonder if they leave today or tomorrow?' As she looked over her limited supply of clothes, her mind began to wander.

                'Well, I wonder if there's anyone out there who could give me a workout?' She entertained this thought for only a moment.  'No... my focus is to be Ranma.  Besides, I can't go around beating on people because I'm bored.'  "That's what I need, a good bath.  Maybe that'll wake me up."

~~

                Ranma stood in an alley, across from him stood the one he had been searching for.  "Well, old man.  We have to talk."

                Happosai tightened his hold on his bag of 'Silky Darlings', being so used to having them taken from him.

                "Don't worry, pervert.  I'm not here for any kind of revenge, even if you deserve it."

                Happosai narrowed his eyes.  "Then what are you here for?" He was proceeding with caution.  He would never admit it, but Ranma held all the cards in a one-on-one.  Even Happosai knew he would never stand a chance agains Ranma after all the training he had done.

                Ranma smiled.  "Well, sit down so I can tell you!"

                ~~~~~~***   That's it for now!   ***~~~~~~

                Whoa.  That's interesting.  Didn't really see that one coming.  O.o  And darnit!  I didn't get as far as I wanted to!

                Oh well.  I guess that will have to come next chapter.  For now, let me know what you think!

                Alex: I know how you feel, Li.  I can sympathize.

                Lila: Um... okay?

                Alex Ultra: O.o  Okay... right.

                Alex: That reminds me.  AU, when are you going to work on MY fic!?!?

                Alex Ultra: Uh... soon?  Does that work?

                Alex: -_-+

                Lila: I'm... gonna go now.

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	10. Forward

                Yo!  I'm back again!

                Now into some plot development.  I happen to hope that this chapter will answer a few questions left by the last chapter!

                And maybe start up a few others.  [Snickers]

                ~~~~~~***   FORWARD   ***~~~~~~

                "What about Ranma?" Akane was beginning to get that pouty face she was known for.

                "What do you think of him?"

                "What do you mean?"

                "What do you think of him?" I repeated my question, with no clarification.  The meaning is in the question.

                "He's an annoying pervert."

                "Oh?"

                "Yea.  Why?  What are you getting at?"

                I did my best to be cryptic. "How can you be so sure he's a pervert?"

                "Because he does perverted things!"

                "Like what?"

                "Like... like getting in the bath with Shampoo!  And grabbing women's breasts.  And all sorts of perverted things!"

                "And how sure can you be that they are perverted?"

                This question took Akane for a loop.  I'm sure she was confused as to what I meant.  Looking rather annoyed, she looked into my eyes.  "What do you mean 'Are they perverted'?"

                "Just that.  How can you be sure that they are perverted things?"

                "They just are!"

                I looked her back into her eyes.  "Akane... touch me." Sticking out my chest, I made sure she knew what I meant.

                She shook her head in confusion.  "What?"

                "Touch me!  Come on!"

                Slowly, unsuredly, she advanced to cover the distance between us.  With one hand she reached out and touched me.  "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

                "I still don't get it."

                "Did you get any pleasure out of it?"

                "What?"

                "Did you get any pleasure out of touching another girl's breast?" I smiled a cryptic smile.

                "No... what are you getting at?" I could tell I was making her nervous.

                "Good, because neither did I." Her face quickly changed from confusion to annoyance.  "Okay!  I'll get to the point!" She leaned back, ready to listen.  "There's a difference between 'The Moment' and being perverted.  A pervert will go out to do such things, purposely doing these things in order to satisfy a desire or to entertain some kind of fantasy.  Case in point: Happosai.  That is a pervert because it constantly goes out and finds pleasure in the act." I'm sure I blushed as much as she did at the mention of that creep's name.  I still couldn't bring myself to admit that thing was a man. "But Ranma's different.  It's true he often finds himself speechless around girls, but I think that may be because he doesn't want to say the wrong things.  It seems to me that everything happens to him, happens TO him.  He doesn't make, or even want most of the things that happen to him to happen.  Such as when one of you walks in on the other, or when Shampoo glomps him." I put on an angry expression at the thought of Shampoo.  "I can tell that Ranma never is quite comfortable around her, she never seems to let go."

                "Speaking of Shampoo, I'm willing to bet that's just where he is.  Probably sucking up for free food."

                "I don't think so."

                "What makes you so sure?"

                "He said he was going to think, and we found the dishes had already been used.  He wouldn't go out for food unless he was hungry."

                She blinked once as her previously dominant thought flew away.  "Are you sure?"

                I nodded.  "Akane, tell me something.  When is it that he goes out to eat?"

                She looked annoyed again.  "All the time!"

                "But what times?"

                Finding that I was pressing the issue, she took a moment to think about it.  "Um... I don't know?  What do you mean?"

                "I _mean_, what is going on _here_ that keeps him from coming here?" I was beginning to feel exasperated, but was determined to let the girl see it herself.

                "Um... I guess I'm usually mad at him when he leaves."

                "And during those times, what would have happened if he had come back?"

                "I don't know, I guess I probably would have gotten mad again?" Breakthrough!!

                "And what about your fathers?"

                "Oh that's easy.  They would start hounding him about apologizing and about uniting the schools.  Genma would end up being a panda again and daddy would either end up unconscious on the floor or would start crying."

                "Yeah, I have noticed he does that a lot..."

                "You have no idea..."

                I closed my eyes as I thought of the next question to make my point clear.  "Akane... Do you think, maybe, if he felt a little safer here, maybe if there was someone to support him, that he would be out so much?"

                "I don't know, probably.  He seems pretty fond of Ukyo." She was still being stubborn.

                I put a hand to my nose, trying to rub the pressure away.  "Okay, different point... Why does he annoy you so much?"

                "Because he's a pervert." That was her standard answer.

                "Are you sure about that?"

                "What do you mean?"

                "Could it have anything to do with the constant stream of insults you two exchange?"

                She blinked as what I said registered.  "I... guess."

                "And then there's his superior attitude.  He may actually BE superior, but he doesn't have to be so condescending about it."

                "You mean in training?  And what's condescending mean?"

                "I do mean in training.  And condescending is like... well, it's like this.  Ranma dances around you when you're trying your best.  He basically says that you aren't any good, but he doesn't help you get any better, or even take you seriously.  He never does anything but watch, as if you might as well be hitting air." I was getting a bit too involved in my stating of an example, I had my fists up and my knuckles were beginning to whiten.

                "Sounds like you're speaking from experience." The smile on her face didn't go unnoticed as I visibly relaxed.  I was a bit embarrassed for having gotten so caught up in it.  "But you're right.  I know he's right, that he's better than me, and that I could improve.  But the fact that he's so direct about it just makes me want to stick my foot in his face and kick that smile off his face." The look she was giving the water said that she was also distracted a bit by this.

                I figured it was now-or-never, I had to get to the point.  "Akane." I got her attention back to me, and off of the water.  "I spoke to Ranma earlier, and we came up with something for you two." She rose one eyebrow, showing she was listening. "Here's the thing, and this may be hard for you.  But I want you to give it a try."

                "What's that?"

                "I need you to keep your anger in check." Her look was saying that she was starting to get angry already.  "Yes, Akane, you do have an anger problem.  You seem to jump to conclusions where Ranma is concerned, and then you never give him a chance to explain.  And when you do, you only hear what makes it sound worse.  It's gotten so bad that he's now practically afraid to talk to you!"

                She crossed her arms.  "Oh, the GREAT Ranma, afraid?  Ha!"

                I'm sure I was beginning to get a bit too forceful, but she was starting to get annoying.  "YES, Akane, afraid.  I mean, look at it from his point of view.  If you don't listen, then he can never tell you the truth.  And because of your conclusions, you're always angry at him.  And because of your anger, you always interrupt him, or bat him away.  No matter what he's done, he always gets a raw deal because he can never explain."

                She was listening with a bit of a different expression now, although I was having trouble deciphering it.

                "Here's the deal: If you can hold back your anger until he's finished his story, or explanation if that sounds better, then you may get to hear a bit of a different story than you expect.  And the deal that we struck was that as long as you give him the chance to explain, that there WILL be an explanation." I smiled. "Although, I'm sure sometimes a story may not sound believable, so there's another term to it."

                "What's that?" She was still thinking about the first part, but managed to show curiosity on the rest.

                "This is where I come in, really.  If a story doesn't sound believable, then I want to hear the story.  If I find that there is no need to worry, then we'll just have to dismiss the whole thing." She began to frown, and I decided to bring up the last point I had made earlier that morning.  "But!  If I don't find it satisfactory, there will be a punishment in store for him."

                Her curiosity was touched for a moment.  "What kind of punishment?"

                I made an attempt at an evil smile.  "The punishment that I spelled out directly was that both you and I would give him the beating of his life.  You doing as you will, and I doing so because he broke our agreement." My smile grew darker as I injected a bit of insanity into the grin.  "I also have punishments for him that may not even seem human, truly.  Let's just say that torture chambers of old Europe both host some of my methods, and even pale in comparison to others." I smiled sweetly, with my best 'I'm so innocent.' smile.  "To quote myself.  Torture, both mental and physical, is something that I'm rather well read on."

                Akane smiled.  "That, I don't mind agreeing to."

                "Do we have a deal?"

                She suddenly looked a bit unsure.  "Uh, you're going to have to help me.  It's gonna be hard to remember for a while..." She began to rub the back of her neck as she fidgeted nervously.

                "Don't worry about it!  I'll be right there as much as I can, and I'm sure it will get easier with time!" I smiled, then without warning, I dunked my head underwater, doing my best to rub my hair in the rather-warm water until I was sure it had gotten all the way into my hair.  Coming up I let go of the breath I had taken before dunking.  "But for now, let's get finished here."

~~

                "Are you sure about this boy?" Ranma nodded, he was sure.

                Happosai nodded himself as he dropped his bag of silky darlings.  Things had just gotten interesting.

~~

                Merlin looked into the crystal ball with mild interest.  "Is that why you chose her?  Because she can speak well?"

                "You know me Merlin, I always have my reasons!"

                Merlin smiled.  "Wasn't that exactly your wish?  To grant wishes to make the world a better place?"

                "Yes!  I grant those wishes that are most beneficial, and to those who would best help all those they then affect.  That's always been my M-O, you know that!"

                Merlin continued his teasing.  "In other words, you play match-maker through other people?"

                Hanumiki smiled and laughed whole-heartedly.  "Well!  That's the romanticized version, yes!" They both got a short laugh out of this.

                Merlin turned to his friend and looked him directly in the eye.  "Well, I can give her the message, but there's no promises.  In fact, if she does show up there, you may never know, and I would probably never know either."

                Hanumiki took on a confused expression.  "But why not?"

                Merlin smiled.  "That, my friend, is simply the way it is."

~~

                Nabiki counted through the cash she had made recently.  Not only did it make up for what she had lost, but it even went a lot farther.

                If only they hadn't lost sight of those two after they ran off...

~~

                Kasumi was presently wondering where Ranma could have gone off to.  It wasn't like him to simply leave.  He did leave a note, but he usually gave some kind of notice beforehand.  Or at least it was because of a fight between him and Akane.

                But she could see no evidence of a fight, perhaps that was why Akane seemed frustrated.

                Passingly, she wondered what was taking her sister so long in the bath.

~~

                ACHOOIE!!

                Akane sniffed as she recovered from her sneeze.  "You aren't catching a cold are you?"

                "No, I don't think so.  That just happens from time to time.  We usually just say that someone is talking about us." She smiled nervously.  "That's something our mother taught us... a long time ago." Akane suddenly stopped buttoning the front of her shirt and held her hands just below her neck.  The distanced look that she had, said that she was thinking about her mother.

                I didn't know what to think, or what I could say.  "Is there something you want to talk about?  I'm a good listener." I managed to get my pigtails in place and put the clip in back that held that hair in place.

                Akane sighed.  "Maybe later.  We have to start packing now." I could tell she didn't want to talk about it just yet, so I didn't press the issue.

                But I did file that away for later, perhaps I could bring it up the next time we were alone?

~~

                The door to the Tendo home opened and a familiar face entered.  Kasumi noticed the entrant and smiled. "Well hello, Ranma!"

                "Hey Kasumi.  Is Akane here?"

                Kasumi nodded.  "But I think she's in the bath.  You can go check." The dishes done, Kasumi decided it was time to rest.  Taking a glass of tea with her, she sat down on the couch they had in the living room.  As she sat she reveled in the taste, it always calmed her.

                And she felt she might be needing that moment of peace.  Ranma was back and Akane was... well, Akane.

                Ranma looked a bit like Ryoga in a way.  He was there while at the same time somewhere else.  His eyes traced the ground and his feet moved, but his thoughts were so far away that he nearly forgot to stop at the door to the bathroom.

                Knocking, he called out.  "Akane?  You in there?"

                "Ranma?" The voice of Akane wafted through the door from inside, it sounded a bit muffled, but Ranma attributed that to the door being between them.

                Without warning Ranma found himself on his butt as Lila suddenly opened the door.  Lila looked down at him on the floor and smiled.

~~

                "Oh come on!  We're both decent!" I mused over how easily he over-reacted to the small surprises.  And then there was the fact that he became speechless when caught unprepared.

                His jaw moved and his hands twitched but no words came out.

                Frowning, I offered him a hand. "Okay, Ranma.  We get the idea.  So what did you want Akane for?"

                He looked at Akane behind me, and then backs to me.  I nodded, acknowledging that I had spoken with her.  Still looking a bit worried, or thoughtful, whichever it was, he brought up a question.  "Can we talk, you know, not in the bathroom?"

                A bit unprepared, but understanding his concerns, I looked at Akane.  "Well, yeah.  That sounds like an idea we could work with." I went back to a corner of the room and picked up my dirty clothes.

                Akane finished brushing her teeth and put her brush away.  Looking at her, one wouldn't be able to tell what she was thinking.  She had a frown on her face, but she wasn't showing any anger.

                It was a rare moment, but she actually wasn't thinking about Ranma, even though he was right there in front of her.

                Ranma moved to the side and let her walk out, paying little attention to him.  "Akane?  Where you going?"

                Akane stopped in the middle of the hallway, only then realizing she had no idea where she was going.

                Walking out I suggested a place I thought we could talk fairly well.  "How about the dojo?" Akane stopped looking cluelessly around and turned to look at me.  "Sound good?" Akane shrugged and started walking out back.

                I sighed and stopped Ranma from following right away.  "Ranma, try not to say anything too stupid right away.  I probably won't be able to hold her back if she takes it the wrong way."

                Taking my dirty clothes and putting them in a convenient place, I followed Ranma out to the dojo, where Akane waited for us still looking slightly lost.

                Ranma started.  "Okay, here's the deal..." Ranma took a deep breath, closing both eyes and obviously thinking hard in order to keep things calm, he continued once he knew Akane was listening.  "Akane, would you mind if we started training together?"

                "Huh?" Akane seemed to come back to the now.  Keeping silent, I waited to see what he had in mind.

                He had a 'deer-in-headlights' look and was staring at the floor.  "Look, here's the idea I came up with...  And please don't get angry at me, 'cause that's not why I'm here." He looked up to check Akane's reaction so far and found that he hadn't said anything wrong yet.  Getting a little braver, he came up with his reasoning.  "Here's the thing." He started poking his two index fingers together. "I was thinking about it... and I came up with something... The truth is, if something happened to you, I'm not sure what I'd do.  And I seem to attract a lot of nasty or angry, even powerful people who might want to use you to get to me.  Or there might even be an accident that you could be involved in." The beads of sweat on his forehead said he was having trouble getting to the point.  "And, well, I would want to protect you, but I can't be there all the time..." Akane started to frown, but I gave her the elbow as a quick reminder to wait.  I'm sure Ranma saw the movement, and my guess is that he took it as a signal to get to the point.  "Well, I guess what I'm saying is that, maybe if I train you, or we train together or something, that it'd be like you can carry a little bit of me with you.  If I can help you get stronger, in a way, that'd be like I'm helping to protect you even when I can't be there myself." He looked her in the eye, and didn't find a bit of anger, I know because I didn't see any either.  She had a bit of that same 'deer-in-headlights' look Ranma had. "Before you accept or decline I hafta say that I won't be a very good teacher, I don't have any experience." Frowning, he added, "And besides, think of who MY teacher was!"

                Ranma laughed loudly at his last revelation for a moment, and Akane just looked speechless.  After a little while, Ranma calmed down.  "Look, Akane, I don't want to fight anymore.  I get enough of that already, and you and me fighting just makes it unpleasant around here..." He looked sheepishly at Akane.  "So what do you say?  I'll try to get along if you do...?"

                As Ranma stuck his hand out in a gesture that said that he wanted to close the deal, Akane started looking like she was fighting something inside.  With tears in her eyes, she looked angrily at Ranma and began shouting.  "DARNIT RANMA!!!  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HATE YOU WHEN YOU'RE so darn... nice to me?!" Her voice wavered a bit at the end as she fought off a sob.

                Ranma was taken for a loop, his surprised expression was matched only by Akane's sudden outburst.  Running as fast as she could, she ran out of the dojo and back to the house.

                Ranma looked at the door with a speechless, shocked expression. "Uh, did I say something wrong?"

                I was looking at the door, a similar expression plastered on my own face.  Then, after going over it, I got a good idea of what happened, and why.  "No, I think you did everything right.  And that's just the problem."

                "Huh?  So why did she freak out if I did everything right?" He was shouting at no one in particular, even if he was facing me.

                I remained calm, taking on a face of matter-of-fact wisdom.  "Well, probably because of morons numbers..." I waited a bit, listening to some of the rustling outside, then put one finger in the air as a wall fell in.

                Ranma looked angrily at Suon and just barely managed to put up a defense before he was blown to the floor.  "...one..."

                Out of the wall behind him came 'Mister Giant Panda', who was carrying a sign that said *What did you do boy!?* "...and two."

                Mr. Tendo was pouring tears from his eyes as he helped Genma stomp Ranma into the ground. "YOU MADE MY BABY GIRL CRY!!  APOLOGIZE TO AKANE!!!"

                Genma-panda agreed by putting up a sign that read *Apologize this instant!!!*

                Feeling rather annoyed at the outburst, I walked calmly up behind them and cleared my throat.  "Excuse me... Mr. Tendo?  Mr. Saotome?"

                They stopped their stomping just long enough to look back to me.  "Yes?"

                "Pardon me for being critical but... how is he supposed to apologize if you're stomping him into the ground?" I kept my eyes on them and watched as they turned to the form on the ground that was directly beneath their feet.

                Suon picked Ranma up off the ground and looked at him.

                He didn't seem to notice, but I saw his arm hanging limply as blood ran out of the corner of his mouth.  Deciding to rush things along, Suon threw Ranma through the air AND Akane's window.

~~

                Akane couldn't stay mad at Ranma when he was like that.  Especially when she wasn't mad to start with.

                But Ranma did the one thing she feared the most from the pig-tailed boy.  He was NICE to her!

                Akane couldn't stay there, she was so _confused!!_

                Crying in frustration, she ran to her room.  Once there she started saying her favorite mantra.  "Ranma you jerk.  Ranma you jerk."

                But for once, she didn't think him a jerk.  In fact, she wanted nothing more than to go back and say yes.  To go back and tell him to train her, and that she didn't want to fight anymore either.

                But she couldn't.  Every time they started being nice together, any time they weren't fighting, their fathers were pushing them apart by trying to push them together.

                So, she sat there, at the side of her bed, confused, crying into her pillow.

                'Oh Kami!  If it weren't for this marriage business, and the schools, then there wouldn't be anything to stop me!'

                Sadly, she looked at her desk behind her.  Seeing a picture of her and Ranma, she thought of something else.  'But why do I want to?  It's not like I like him...'  Turning back toward her bed, she continued her thinking. 'So what is it?  Why do I feel so terrible?'

                Before she could come up with any answers she heard a loud crash.  Turning around she saw the window had been crashed through.

                Following the damage trail, she readied to defend herself, even with tears in her eyes.

                At first sight of Ranma, her first though was that she should be angry, he was in HER room after all!

                But at looking a little closer, she saw something she never expected to see...

~~

                I looked at the broken window.  I had to admit, he had good aim.  "Before I go... Mr. Saotome, how did you know to come back here?"

                He held up another sign that explained everything.  *I sensed an angry aura.* He looked pretty proud of himself.

                "Oh, I get it." Turning around, looked back at the house. "Now stay here while I go see what they're doing."

~~

                Akane was looking at the motionless, bloody form that resembled Ranma.  His arm was out of joint and he was bleeding from all over.  "Ranma!  Are you okay!?" Relieved to find that he was still breathing, she asked another question, this time to no one in particular.  "Who did this!?!?"

                A voice from the window answered her question as Lila crawled in, careful not to scratch herself on the glass.  "Fathers numbers one and two." Not noticing the sudden angry aura appearing around Akane, she gasped when she saw Ranma in the state he was in.  "Oh my god!"

                Akane was about to go find those ##*@# fathers of theirs and give them a piece of her mind when Lila stopped her.  "That won't help him, let's get him to Dr. Tofu."

                Letting her anger disappear for an instant, Akane nodded.

                Being careful not to twist his arm any worse than it was, Akane picked Ranma off the ground as Lila opened the door.

                As Akane ran out of the room and down the hall, Lila walked over to the window to look in the yard at the two 'fathers'.

                Scowling, she watched them exchange high-fives.

~~

                Bishibon watched the events in the crystal ball with interest.  'Well, things just got interesting!  Hanumiki may want to see this.'

                ~~~~~~***   The End (of this chapter)   ***~~~~~~

                Ah... what a nice ending, ne?

                And now that this has come out, I must do this.

                [Opens canister of confetti]  WOO HOO!! [Pops confetti bombs]  CHAPTER TEN!!!  Cool!  It's a landmark!

                Alex: Congratulations!  Maybe now you can work on Traveler X for a while?  Hmm?

                Alex Ultra: Urk... Uh.... maybe?

                Alex: I think it's about time you did...

                Alex Ultra: Yeah!  Um, about that, I'm kinda lost on that next one!

                Lila: [Walks in and looks at screen] Hey, you finished yet?

                Alex Ultra: Yeah!  Lookit!

                Alex: [Looks a bit 'displeased'] [Pulls out water cannon and shoots Alex Ultra]

                Lila: Aaah! [Jumps away in shock]

                Alex Ultra: Miew?

                Alex: Hehe... that'll teach him!  Hey, why're you so high-strung?

                Lila: [Panting]  Huff, huff.  No.. gasp... reason!

                Alex: [Smirks] Someone has a secret!  What is it?  You can tell me!

                Lila: [Grins] I'll tell you if you tell me!

                Alex Ultra: [Watches them walk away] MEOW MIYAOW!!  MIEW MEOW!!  [Translation: HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!?  GET BACK HERE!!]

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	11. Day of Stories

                I is backened... O.o The hollydays R messing wit mi haed.  ^.^  Scuwl bee owt naow!  I no haf ta tink!  ^.^

                Okay... maybe I _can_ type right now...  O.o  It feels kinda weird to not be in school though.  I feel like I ought to be having homework hanging over my head right now, but I don't!  ^.^  Even though it's a load off my mind, it seems like a ghost hanging over me somehow.  O.o

                WARNING TO READERS:  I am currently using Floppies to transfer my original documents from where they are written to where they are posted.  And as such, some of the text may end up with errors in it.  It is an unfortunate, and indeed angering thing.  So if any errors are found, I would like to be told about it.  I recently found an error in chapter 10 and have now fixed it!  You can go check it out if you want!

                I wish there was something more I could do, but there really isn't.  /_\

                Alex Ultra: [Yells at Alex] NO TALKING ABOUT ALCOHOL!!! \_/

                Alex: Why not? ^.^

                Alex Ultra: Because!  Alcohol is EEEEEVILLLL!!!!

                Alex: So?  ^.^  I mean... I'm immune!  What could it hurt!

                Alex Ultra: I said NO TALKING ABOUT ALCOHOL!!!

                Alex: Fine... geeze.  -_-

                Alex Ultra: ''-_-+

                Lila: [Sits quietly] Are you going to start typing now?

                Alex Ultra: Oh yeah!  Gotta get started with that... any idea for a title?

                Lila: Um, how about...

                ~~~~~~***   DAY OF STORIES   ***~~~~~~

                Akane ran Ranma to Dr. Tofu's right away, and got there within a few minutes.

                "Is he okay Doctor!?" Akane was worried in what seemed like a rare moment.

                "Oh, my, Akane!  What did you do?"

                "It wasn't Akane, it was their _wonderful_ fathers." I was quite annoyed at them.  As I sat in the waiting room I thought up ways that I could teach them a lesson.  I had a few ideas.

                "Well, let's get to him.  First, let's look at that arm." Leaning over to be level with the table Ranma was on, Tofu looked closely at his arm.  Taking it in one hand, he inspected the damage.  "Hmmm, well, fortunately it's just dis-located.  With a little coaxing... there!"

                With a painful-sounding CRRRRHROARK! Ranma's arm moved back in place.  It sent a painful chill down my spine just listening to it.

                "Now let's look at these other injuries." Looking him over, he went over the various bruises and cuts all over his head and body.  "Several hard hits to the head, probably why he's unconscious.  He's also got bruises all over and he's got cuts everywhere that's exposed.  Unless I missed my guess, I'd say that's glass!" He said this as he took a pair of tweezers and pulled a small shard straight out of his skin.

                I trembled at the sight of him pulling that piece of glass out of still-living flesh.  I was just glad Ranma wasn't conscious, or that stuff the doctor just did could have hurt a whole bunch.

                Akane turned her head away, not really wanting to SEE the bloody details.  I'm sure it was hard enough to HEAR them.

                "What happened?" I noticed the doctor's gaze locked on me.

                "Oh, well, I'm not _exactly _sure, but basically, Mr. Tendo and Saotome came in angry at Ranma, yelling at him to apologize to Akane." Akane looked at the floor, I'm pretty sure she would have guessed that by now, but it was different to hear it.  "They then beat him into the floor for a while, stomping a lot.  And then when they stopped that, Mr. Tendo took him into the air, not noticing his injuries, and threw him through Akane's window so he would talk to her.  That's where the glass came from." As I spoke he nodded.

                Looking Ranma over a little more closely he carefully turned his head this way and that.  "Well, perhaps this can help tell the un-told story."  He pulled his head and shoulders a bit to the side so that I could see the back of his neck.

                Right there, near the top of his back and the base of his neck was some kind of symbol.  "What is it?"

                Akane turned around, her curiosity touched for a moment.  Her eyes widened a little when she saw the symbol.  "That's a moxibustion mark!!!"

                "A what?"

                "It's something that weakens the one that's been marked.  It makes them slower, weaker, and more vulnerable.  But we can't burn it off now.  The shock to his system could put him in a coma or worse..." Akane nodded, not really wanting to find out what 'or worse' could mean, not that I blamed her.

                But I was more focused on that mark.  'He didn't have that this morning!  So... did he go and get it sometime this morning?'

                Looking over at Akane, I could only wonder what she was thinking...

~~ Yet again, I know! ~~

                'Stupid Ranma!  I know what that was for!  He was serious when he said 'Train together'.  He wanted to be at my level, probably so he wouldn't hurt me...' For a moment, she took on an angry scowl. 'Darn him!  When he wakes up I'm going to have to teach him a lesson in thinking things through!'

                "Akane, could you help me with getting him treated?"

                "Oh!  Yes, doctor!"

                The two of them, sans Lila since she had no idea where anything was and felt that she would probably just get in the way, went to dis-infecting the wounds, removing the glass, and putting a strapping tape on his left arm so as to hold it tightly in place. He wanted it held there until he had a chance to look at the joint, saying he had a few things that should help it heal more quickly.

~~

                "Well, Akane.  Barring infection, I think he should be okay!  But he won't be ready for any fighting until tomorrow...  Besides that, he should wake up sometime today.  No promises, of course... one can never be sure." As he said this he walked back to the main area.

                "I'm going to stay here, in case someone shows up..." Akane was looking at Ranma's bandaged face, it really wasn't too bad, he was just scratched up a bit.

                A voice from the corner caught the attention of all present.  "That won't be necessary."

                When I saw the owner of the voice, I practically shouted in surprise while taking a step back.  "It's the Bug-man!"

                "I'm NOT a bug!"

                "So you prefer I call you 'Lecherous old Freak' like Ranma?"

                "You know... now that I think about it... he does kinda remind me of a bug." Akane was leaning over, and for some reason the old man began smiling foolishly.

                Visibly fighting the urge to jump up and latch on to the bosom that Akane was in-advertently showing him, he explained his presence. "Ranma spoke with me earlier.  He wanted me to do something for him, and I agreed.  On certain terms, of course."

                I put a hand to my forehead.  "Okay, I don't even want to know what the terms are.  But what did he ask you?"

                "Well, the obvious thing is the mark.  He wanted me to put one on him, being specific that he be at your level." He addressed this to Akane.  "I'm not exactly sure why, but that was his request.  And for the second part, he wanted protection from all the people he seems to attract."

                "Seems like a lot of trouble for a few panties, old man."

                "But it's NOT ABOUT a few panties!  Although that was a happy side-benefit."

                "Oh?" I was suddenly interested, although angered about the panties.

                "Of course not." He pulled out a pipe from the bag he always seemed to be carrying.  "You see, his proposal was this.  The mark, as powerful as it may seem, can only reduce you to a fraction of your power, the fraction is set at the time of marking.  But any power or strength, indeed even speed gained while one has the mark is increased by that much more when the mark is removed!  I'm not sure why I never thought of it before, but somehow that effect of the mark makes training that much more effective!"

                "And this is good for you... why?"

                "Well, I'm training him to inherit my school, and I need a strong heir!  Which also happens to be why I agreed to hold off his rivals and so-such..."

                I furrowed my brow, not really comfortable with the idea.  But I had to admit, that did make sense.  Maybe Ranma thought that out a little more than he put on...  "But why didn't you stop the fathers?"

                "I was about to, but I got a bit... distracted.  And because of it, it took me a little longer than necessary to get to the dojo.  By the time I got there you had already come here." I face faulted, I was sure I knew what had 'distracted' him.

                "Some bodyguard..."

                Happosai humphed.  "Well, those two ARE my students!  And it would have been helpful if they had known that he wasn't as strong as he was yesterday."

                As strange as it felt... I had to admit the bug-guy had a point.  'Big... round... eyes!' Honestly... I'm not ashamed to admit that the sight of him creeped me out a bit, and the hentai part didn't help much...

                "Akane.  I think Ranma's safe for now.  But I think it would be a good idea to not let word of this get out... especially until he wakes up..."  Akane nodded.  "And besides, we still need to pack."

                Akane turned to Happosai.  "And if you leave Ranma's side, even for a MINUTE!!  I will find you and make sure your life turns out as a living HELL!!"

                "Oh, Akane.  There is no need to worry about that.  But before you go..."

                "What?" Akane turned back around, wanting to know what he wanted now.

                "Give me a good-bye HUG!!" It turned out to be a mistake as the old guy buried his face in her chest and snuggled around in truly perverted fashion.

                Giving a shout of fear and hate mixed together, she managed to pull the squirming bundle off her shirt and hold him out in the air.

                WHAM!!!

                Seeing the old guy plastered against the wall gave me a kind of satisfaction.  "You know... I have no idea where I got this mallet, but it sure comes in handy!" Smiling, I shouldered the oddly light weapon and looked at Akane.

                "Yeah, I know.  Great, isn't it?"

                Laughing, a bit more lighthearted now that we knew Ranma was alright, we thanked the doctor and walked off.

                I didn't even notice when the mallet seemed to disappear.

                I didn't even pay attention as Happosai peeled himself off the wall.

                He had a pleased grin on his face.  "Ah... I needed that..."

~~

                The two of us were going through our stuff packing for the vacation.  I pretty much packed everything I had, all my wristbands, the day-clothes, my pajamas, swimwear (blush), and my two pairs of shoes.  One pair of sandals, and one pair of sneakers.  Passingly, I wondered where that mallet went off to, but Akane never showed any concern, so I figured it couldn't be that much of a big deal.

                Akane had to do a bit more choosing.  She did bring all those things she had bought, but her weights took up a lot of space.  She decided to take her teddy bear as a take-on and basically fussed over everything else in her room before she was done.

                "Hard time deciding?"

                "Oh be quiet."

                I smiled as I watched her carry ten suitcases.  Suon was stuck carrying the weights and I only had two filled.

                "So where are we taking these?"

                "To the living room."

                "Ah." Suon was silent, pretending that the weights didn't bother him.  Of course, the beads of sweat didn't help in that conviction.  "Wonder what Kasumi and Nabiki are taking?"

                "Hmm?  I don't know?  Maybe we could ask them?"

                "Nah, it's their business.  Besides, we'll probably find out anyway." I put my stuff down on the ground and helped Akane do the same (by taking some off her head).

                "Thanks."

                "Well, we're done for the day... you wanna go check on Ranma?" I rubbed my wrists... not really sure why, but something in my head was bugging me.

                Akane looked at the floor, having nearly forgotten about Ranma.  "Yeah... let's go see if there's anything changed or if he'll wake up sometime soon."

                Smacking one fist into my open palm I came up with a revelation.  "That's right!  It's Sunday!!!"

                "What?" Akane was a little shocked about my outburst.

                I laughed nervously.  "Hehe... sorry.  It's just been bugging me that I was forgetting something." Walking over to Suon, who was currently trying to figure a way to put the suitcase containing all our weights onto the floor without dropping it on his feet.

                Swinging my weight around for a second, I pulled the case from his grip, causing him to fall uncontrollably, and put it on the floor.

                Opening it up for a second I looked inside it.  There were Akane's weights, a set of two at fifty kilos each.  And then there were my various weighted belt sections.  Personally, I was thrilled when I found those.  Each section weighed ten kilos and I had bought about forty of them, using mostly the money I had gotten working at the manga shop, a job I started about a week and a half into my stay.

                "Let's see... one on each arm... leg, and my head.  And then two around my waist for good measure." I inspected the weights to see if they were holding up.  I now had about 170 kilos on.  I had ten on before and had just added another seven.  Moving around, I had to admit that it really didn't feel like all that much.  Even my head now had twenty kilos strapped to it and I could barely tell.  "Well, I guess that will be good for a while." Closing it up I slid the little case to the corner where all the others were.

                Suon had been watching me with a little interest.  Pointing a little, he asked me a question.  "How much do those weigh exactly?"

                "These?  Each piece weighs ten kilos.  I can hook them together too!  See?" I pulled the elastic of one of those around my waist to show hooks holding them together.

                A little more interested, and with a sweatdrop traveling down the side of his face, he asked how much was in the suitcase.

                "Oh... well Akane's makes about 100 kilos.  And then up until now there were thirty of these in there so... about 400 kilos.  Well, I guess now it's 330."  I don't think he heard any more as his head was currently buried in the floor.

                Shrugging, I turned to Akane.  She looked a little worried.  "Are you sure you're okay with all that additional weight?"

                "I'll get used to it.  Besides, it's really not as bad as that first two weeks." Smiling, I put one hand behind my head.  During those weeks I was prone to falling over by the end of the day.  When I finally added the first weight to my head my neck started getting a workout too.

                Slowly swinging her head from side to side she walked out the door, with me right behind.

                I really didn't see what all the fuss was about.  I mean hey, how much could all that really be?

                "Four-hundred times two point four makes..." 'Eight... sixteen, nine.  Nine hundred...' "NINE HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX!!!"

                I had somehow interrupted Akane in the middle of a jump and she was now falling face-first into a building.

                CRASSSHH!!

                "Ow.  What was that about?"

                "Oh, sorry." I landed right where I had been subconsciously intending to land.  "I was just wondering how many pounds that was...  Did you know that we had your dad carrying nearly half an English ton!?"

                Akane blinked in confusion.  "Um... so?"

                "Really!  That shouldn't even be humanly possible!"

                She continued to blink, then she smiled.  "Well, we ARE rather extraordinary!" She put one hand to her chin as if being cryptic.

                I would have been sore, but then I thought of something.  "OH KAMI!!!  HOW MUCH AM _I_ CARRYING!?  Two hundred..." I started fussing with my fingers, not really using them for anything, as I went about figuring it in my head.  'Ignore the hundred... seven times, fourteen, three.  Then the four makes twenty-four.  Another four adds two... and then four...' I suddenly felt sick.  "Three hundred sixty-four."  Frowning, I looked at the ground.  "Somehow, I just know that's a low estimate, but that's STILL a lot!"

                "Oh really.  Well, then you shouldn't have too much trouble with Ryoga's umbrella." Her cynical attitude went unnoticed as I was still thinking about how much I was carrying.

                "I guess that does explain why I'm so tired..." To be precise, my legs were burning.  And I was lost as to where we were.  My mind wasn't there and my legs were still about fifty meters behind us...

                Going to one foot, I put my arms out to the side and started hopping on my toes.  "But it doesn't really _feel_ all that heavy..."

                Akane watched me only for a second or so and then rolled her eyes.  "Well, I'm going." With that she jumped away.

                I didn't really feel up to roof-hopping right then, so instead I jumped down to the sidewalk.

~~

                Ryotori was a bit puzzled.  He wasn't sure if he should get the ORANGE fruits, or the red ones?  He was debating calling his wife when the building started shaking a bit.  'Strange...'

                After a short while the rumbling stopped.  Shrugging it off, he made his decision.

                Whipping out his cell-phone, he proceeded to call his wife (for the tenth time that day).

                WHAM!!

                He suddenly felt the ground lurch beneath him as some kind of form came down on the earth before him.  The concrete didn't buckle, but the landing did send a shockwave that sent everyone on the streets to the ground.

~~

                When I landed, I noticed that a number of people were on the ground.  There were also a whole lot of fruit rolling around.

                Blushing a little, I figured that I was the cause.  Someone weighing more than two hundred kilos doesn't usually jump off the roof of a building.

                I just chose to walk away, figuring that walking couldn't cause too much trouble.

                'Ooh!  The new copy of Rakahashi Nimori is out!' As I walked I looked at all the banners that I happened across.

                "Okay forget this walking stuff!" Getting slightly bored, I decided to run.  It wasn't quite jumping, but it was better than walking!

~~

                Mimi was trying to calm her little boy.  For some reason, he had gotten it into his head that there were giants running around the city eating little children at night.

                "Now now... there are no giants honey.  At least not in this district, they're too afraid of all the kids around here!" She tried to smile sweetly.

                The boy hiccupped a couple of times as he opened his eyes and looked into his mother's eyes.  "R-really?"

                Before she could respond, Mimi heard a short-lived scream followed shortly by the destruction of the wooden fence that had once bordered their yard.

                After the dust and confusion settled, she noticed a girl with bright blue hair lifting herself out of the rubble.

                Looking around at the rubble, the girl noticed the two people across the yard.  Standing quickly, she put one hand behind her head.  "Uh, sorry about that!  I'm kinda busy now, but I'll be back later to help you re-build that."

                Looking around, she seemed lost for a second.  "Great!  Now where am I?"

~ Somewhere far away Ryoga sneezed. ~

                                "Damn you Ranma!  Where are you now!?!?" Looking at the surroundings

                Ryoga said another inspiring statement.  "NOW WHERE AM I?!?!?"

                                "-Who is that boy?  Do you know Roger?-" One man leaned against his

                hoe and addressed another man.

                                "-Nope.  But he sure doesn't look like he's from around here.  Maybe he's

                from somewhere to the East?-" Roger referred to his strange way of dressing.

                                Noticing the two men, Ryoga addressed them.  "Excuse me, do you know

                how to get to Tokyo from here?"

                                The only word the two really understood was Tokyo...  "-Tokyo?

                Isn't that in Japan?-"  Roger looked at his companion, who nodded.  "-Well

                then, you're on the wrong track.  It's a few thousand miles that way.-"

                                "-You're in the American Mid-west boy...-"

                                Ryoga's clueless expression seemed to the two like a perfect Kodak moment.

                "Okay then, thank you for your help." Turning away, he managed to start running

                in the wrong direction.

                                "-You think he knows he's going north?-"

                                Roger shrugged.  "-Maybe he plans on getting a plane in Canada?-"

~ And as that side-show ends... ~

                Mimi watched the whole time as the girl walked up to them.  "Uh...?"  She didn't respond to them as she was looking up.

                She was rather surprised to see the girl jump into the air, and then heard a bit of a thump, followed by a short creak as she landed on the roof.  From somewhere behind them and atop the roof she heard the girl start saying something.  "Okay!  That's it!"

                Jumping back to the ground, the girl accidentally left two, foot shaped holes in the ground just beyond the patio.  Turning around, and picking her feet out of the ground, she addressed the two on the porch.  "Um, I'll be back later.  And maybe I'll bring a friend?" She looked a little thoughtful... and then nodded.  "Yeah... I think she'll come.  Maybe... if I can get her away from Ranma for a while." Without another word, she jumped away and back to the street... in one jump.

                As she ran off again, Mimi looked forcedly at her son.  "Yeah... I'm sure."

                Kas smiled.  "I feel better now!  Those giants wouldn't stand a chance!" Putting one little fist into the air he suddenly got a lot of energy as his mother sat there, feeling a bit too speechless to really think very effectively.

~~

                'Darn shoes.  I think I gotta get new ones sometime soon.' I felt really bad about crashing into that lady's fence...  I figured the least I could do was re-build it.

                The rest of the way to Tofu's clinic, I took it a little easier on the turns, apparently my current shoes couldn't handle turning too hard with all the weight I had on them.

                It didn't take too long to get to the clinic, even if I did get there a while later than Akane.  When I went in I found her in the waiting room, looking a bit disappointed.

                When he noticed me Dr. Tofu said the obvious.  "He isn't awake yet.  You know you two were only gone for a few minutes..."

                Looking at the clock I found that it had been just under a half-hour since we left the office.  "Oh, I guess you're right." Looking back at him, I noticed the jars he had on the table beside him.  "I guess you've found the stuff you were looking for?"

                "Yep!  He should be good as new by sometime tonight!" He smiled as some groaning was heard from deeper in the clinic.

                "Ohhh!  Man!  Hey, why's my face all taped up?  And what happened to my arm?"

                Tofu was the first to get to Ranma, and gently pushed him back down.  "Now just rest for now.  Your arm was forced from place and you're covered in bruises and cuts.  I'm about to treat that now.  Honestly, I'm almost surprised you're awake so soon!"

                "Oh... yeah, I remember pops beating me down, and then Suon stomped on my arm.  Man it hurt!  I don't really remember anything after that."

                "Your fathers stopped beating you into the floor and then threw you through Akane's window.  Thus the cuts." I spoke up and made myself and Akane known to the boy.

                "Oh!  Hey, Lila... Akane.  What's up?"

                Akane looked angrily at him.  "YOU IDIOT!  HOW COULD YOU TAKE SUCH A BIG RISK!?!?"

                Ranma reeled, which was a feat considering he didn't move an inch.  "Hey... is this about...?"  
                "Yes it is."

                "Old man!  I thought you said I wouldn't even know you were there!"

                "Well, I had to keep them from burning that mark off!"

                "Fine, whatever." He looked at Akane and managed to look sheepish without being able to move either arm.  "Uh, about that.  Sorry, I didn't think about it as far as I would have liked... I thought I did, but I mean... I'm just not all that good about that." He then looked serious, or semi-serious.  "And sorry, but in case you decide to accept... I won't be able to train you for a while, seeing as how my arm is out of commission."

                "Oh... Ranma." Akane didn't really know what to say as tears threatened to start falling.

                I smiled.  "And I'll help you deal with your fathers." Taking on a sinister look, I continued with the thought.  "After all, I think they can be made to listen to... _reason_!" Lifting one arm up I showed off my new mallet, that I still wasn't sure where I had gotten, but it sure gave quite an effect.

                Akane smiled.  "That's right, we've still got to have a _word_ with them!" She then pulled out her own mallet and held it angrily.

                Smiling, she started stomping out of the room.  "Oh _FATHER!!!!"_

I managed to stop her before she jumped away.  "Let's run instead of jumping.  We'll make it there at the same time that way..."  Then, after a second or so of thinking, I brought up another thought.  "And besides, I just thought of something..."

                The smile I flashed bought her on the idea, though I'm not sure how.

                ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter 11   ***~~~~~~

                Well, that's it for that chapter.  So tell me what you think!?

                Hopefully the format thing won't be too much of a problem, but just to remind you.  If it is a problem, let me know and tell me the nature of the problem.  After all, a problem can only be fixed if it can be found.  O.o

                And as a final note... Ranma's cool!  Ranma Rocks!  Ranma rocks so much that BOULDERS PALE IN COMPARISON!!!  HAHAHA!!!

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	12. A Day Goes On

                I am back!  And now things are to be found good as I am back!  Backness is a good thing!  And I wonder how many ways I can find to say I'm back?

                O.o I don't know but I think you get the idea... -_-

                You know... it still feels weird to be home when I would normally be at school... oh well; I'll get over it.

                Now, to get over my short writer's block and get on with it.

                ~~~~~~***   A DAY GOES ON   ***~~~~~~

                I found my quarry in the living room.  Nodding to Akane, we stalked up to them.  "Now you two.  Let's 'talk'!"

                They were so afraid of the look in our eyes, and probably a bit confused as to why we were so angry, that they didn't even fight back.

                So... after we had them knocked out, I let Akane, who felt much better now, go watch Ranma.  I told her I had something I wanted to talk to the two about.

                Preparing quickly, I gathered the ingredients I needed.  I needed to keep them under control, and this seemed the perfect way.

                After about half an hour, the two of them awoke to a candle-lit room.  I was sitting across from them meditating Indian style.

                It didn't take them long to figure out that they were tied up.  "What is the meaning of this!?!?"

                "This, mister Tendo, is my way of making sure that you listen to what I have to say.  As for what Akane and I did earlier, well.  That was for something you did earlier today."

                The confused look on their faces was priceless, then Genma started getting up to his feet.

                I held up a vial of a strange yellow liquid.  "Please don't move."

                "What is that?"

                "This, is a rather potent potion that, if used, would create a rather painful experience for you."

                "How dare you hold us here in this manner!"

                "Well, if you listen, then I will no longer have any need to hold you.  But I do have the help of your other two daughters as well."

                Genma still stood, even with his feet bound together and his arms wrapped to his stomach.  "And what of my son?"

                I did my best to hold my anger in, but I think I may have failed miserably.  "HE'S IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW THANKS TO THE TWO OF YOU!!!"

                "What are you talking about!?"

                "You two nearly KILLED him earlier when you attacked him in the dojo!"

                "That boy is weak if we could do so much damage.  He is not THAT weak!"

                I was ready to pop, but I kept as much of my calm as I could.  "Look, that's something you're going to have to talk to him about when he can use his arm again." I SO wanted to shove that potion down his throat, but I held back enough to keep most of my cool.  "Right now, I have to talk to you two about Ranma and Akane."

                "My baby girl attacked her daddy!!" Suon suddenly started crying again.

                "Mr. Tendo, could you please stop?"

                "Why?"

                "Because I don't want you getting the floor wet.  And besides, I want to talk to you two."

                "About what?"

                I kept my fist to myself, I could almost feel the mallet again, but kept my calm.  "Okay... here's the point!" My look said 'SIT DOWN!!!', and they did.  "Right now, I am trying to get a stronger relationship between Ranma and Akane." Suon was about to cry, and probably shout 'OH!! THE SCHOOLS SHALL NOW BE UNITED!!' but I flashed him a glare that made him hold it in.  "But if you two don't cooperate, you will only continue to drive them apart!"

                Genma held his face into an emotionless state, but Suon was about to cry out.  Fortunately, he held it in.  "Here's what I need you two to do, and if you don't... just do okay?  Whenever something happens between the two of them, leave it to the two of them.  Do not make any plans for their marriage, do not speak about uniting the schools, do not tell Ranma to apologize, do not speak about them except as if they were someone else entirely."

                "But why?"

                "_Because!!!_  Each time one or both of you get involved, any kind of friendship between those two suddenly crumbles!  They're afraid to be friendly to each other because of you two!  Ranma avoids spending time around here because of you two.  I know Akane's anger IS a problem, but I'm helping to try and resolve that.  And the one thing that will make it a CERTAINTY that they WON'T be getting together is if YOU TWO make it hard for them!

                "Shampoo, Ukyo, Kuno, and Ryoga are problems that they could deal with only if they can find support here.  But only if they aren't bothered will they feel safe here!"

                Genma looked at Suon, who nodded.  "For the sake of uniting the schools, we shall follow the couple-making advice given to us."

                "However.  There is one last thing." Their questioning glances said they wanted to hear the last thing.  "Don't expect a marriage until they are at least out of high-school.  Got it?"

                "ABSURD!!"

                "WHY?"  
                "Because, if they marry while in high school, everyone will feel that they are rushing it.  And rushing into ANYTHING so permanent is always a bad idea."

                "But I was so looking forward to seeing my daughter in her mother's wedding gown!" Suon would have put his arm up to his eyes if he could have moved them.

                "Well, the last thing they need is to go down the halls of their high-school as a married couple.  People will start to think they are under some kind of SPELL or something!  And then that will create a general uproar among the populace that Ranma will probably have to deal with." I was rolling my eyes a bit as I thought about it.  All those boys charging him and all the girls trying to break Akane free from the spell she was under.  And then there was Kuno, who thought he had all three of them under his spell anyway.  And Kodachi how could probably PUT them under a spell!

                "Look, they will probably grow close enough, but that has to be completely up to them, or else it simply won't work.  In fact, about the only thing I can do is help Akane manage her anger.  So do we have an agreement?"

                Genma looked determined.  "I shall have to speak with my son about all this injury business, but I shall do as I must to unite the schools!" Getting up to his feet, he hopped over to the door.

                Seeing him ready to open the door, I tried to stop him.  "Uh, you really shouldn't..."

                As soon as his mouth touched the doorknob two-hundred ten volts of electricity suddenly arced through his body and he was thrown through the air and hit the opposite wall.

                As his friend fell to the ground, unconscious, Suon looked seriously at him and spoke his mind.  "Nabiki?"

                "Nabiki." I nodded my head and then pointed to the glass vial I still had in my hand.  "Kasumi too!"

                "I see.  Well, like my charred friend said, we shall do as we must to unite the schools."

                "Good.  And one last thing, I don't want Akane to know that I'm the one who told you to do this, she needs to know that you're doing this because you care about them.  Tell him that when he wakes up, okay?" Nodding in his direction, I stood up and knocked on the door, telling Nabiki that we were finished.

                "About time, how long were they out?"

                "Just long enough for my tastes..."

                "Hmm, did you tell them the floor was electrified too?"

                "No, but I did manage to keep Suon from crying anyway." Suon's surprise was evident in his bulging eyes as he looked from us to the floor, back to us again.  "Which reminds me." Walking over to the candles, I blew them out.  "Don't worry, this won't take too long."

                Walking out, I closed the door behind me and left the two of them in there tied up.  "It should only take about three minutes to take effect, then you have another twenty minutes before it wears off.  That should be enough time to drag their sorry butts back to the living room."

                Nabiki nodded.  "Don't worry, we'll have them out of there quick!"

                Smiling, I went over to the kitchen.  "Hey Kasumi!  I'm going over to the school real quick!  Don't wait up for me!"

                "Okay, don't take too long, okay?"

                "Don't worry!" And with that, I started off for the school.

~~

                It seemed like I had been doing a lot of running today, as opposed to building hopping.  But hey, it was a workout, and I liked the feeling it gave me...

                Even so, I was rather out of breath by the time I got to the school.  So rather than running down the halls to the Kendo room, I decided to drop some weight and jump to the roof, seeing as how it was closer.

                I made it to the large gym-like room that served as the practice room for the Kendo club and went to a back room, using a key I had gotten especially for this room to open the door.

                Walking around one table, I looked under another.

                'Perfect!  Look at how much clearer the water is now!  And the compression sharpener should do a really good job on it too.' Dipping my hand into the slightly red water I pulled out a wooden sword that was being treated in the water.

                'Kinda soggy... oh well.  Time to heat-treat it...'  Walking over to a large, timed machine, I set the slightly soggy stick into the basin to be treated.

                Turning it on I set the timer to slow-treat.  That should keep the water from simply rushing out and creating holes.

                I had made three of these swords.  And I was rather proud of them, as I had made them myself.

                A half hour later, the machine was finished.  All the water had evaporated, leaving all the chemicals trapped within the now hardened, dried, and sealed wooden sword.

                Smiling, I pulled the next out and placed it into the machine and set it for a similar treatment.

                I wrapped the base in the standard tape for grip and took a look at my new weapon.

                As I held it, I could tell that it was different from the other swords that were made in this room.  Even though it was made on similar principles, and even had the same shape.  It was definitely special.

                As I waited, I picked out three sheathes for my swords.  Even though they were wooden, the police probably wouldn't take it too lightly if I went around the streets without a sheath.  They only tolerated it from Kuno because of his honorable up bringing.

                DING!

                I pulled out the second sword and put in the third, releasing the drain on the tank.

                "There you are!  What are you doing?"

                "Huh?  Oh!  Akane!  How's Ranma?"

                "Akane!  Could you wait up?  It's not exactly easy to run with this splint!!"

                "Well, that answers that question..." I put one hand to my forehead.

                "Are you making swords?"

                "Yeah, wanna see?" She nodded and I tossed the first one to her, the second still didn't have any tape on it.

                As I started taping up the second one she unsheathed the first and looked it over.  "It's a little redder than Kuno's..." She scrunched up her brow.  "And it smells funny..." Giving it a practice swing, she continued to keep her brow scrunched.  "It seems kinda funny when I swing it.  Like it's off balance or something."

                "Let me see." I smiled as Ranma took it in his free hand and looked at it.

                Swinging it around a couple of times he nodded.  "You're right... it does feel odd..."  Looking at it closely, he eyed me over as well.

                I smiled at him as I sheathed the other sword, which now had a full handle on it.

                Suddenly, he smiled, as if he had just figured something out.  "Oh!  I get it!  That smell, the way it feels so odd!"  He held it vertically as he looked at it.  "It smells like blood.  And it has an energy signature that matches yours!"

                "Oh good.  I was almost afraid all that work would be for nothing!" I smiled as Akane looked at me disbelievingly.

                "What?  What do you mean?"

                I looked at her with a prideful smile plastered across my face.  "I added some of my own blood to the mixture.  Soaking it until, like a sponge, it absorbed into the wood!  I was afraid it wouldn't work, but it looks like it's now the perfect weapon!"

                "What do you mean?"

                "By having her blood embedded into the sword, she can use it like a real extension of her body.  Even as a way of using her energy if she tried!" He smiled as he tossed it to me.

                "That's the plan!" Smiling, I grabbed the weapon and put it in its own sheath.

                Akane still looked slightly confused, and then decided to drop it.  "Whatever.  So how long you gonna be here?"

                "I don't know.  Whenever this last one gets done and wrapped, I guess."

                "Why do you need three of them?" Ranma was suddenly curious.

                "In case they break somehow!  I don't want to have to go through all this over and over because the original broke!"

                "Oh..." Ranma suddenly looked like he knew he should have thought of that... which he should have.

                "So... Akane."

                "Hmm?"

                "What do you say... you know?"

                She rubbed one arm and looked at the floor uncomfortably.  "I don't know... I'll have to think about it."

                I rose an inquisitive eyebrow.  "You mean you haven't been thinking about it all this time?" She shook her head no.

                "That's not it... I just have to see what daddy says."

                I sighed.  "He'll probably want you to apologize for attacking him... or he might start crying at the mention of the idea..."

                She sighed and the machine dinged almost simultaneously.  "Cool!  It's done!" I pulled it out and went to wrapping it, ignoring how hot it was.  "Now I just need to pick up my weights and we can leave!"

                "You mean these?" Akane held up a number of sets of my weights... I nodded.

                "Yep, those are the ones!"

~~ Later on ~~

                "Oh!  My little girl!!  WAAAHH!!" Suon was now crying, although it didn't seem out of place somehow...  "I'm so proud.  She wants to be even better!  To truly carry on the name of BOTH schools!!!"

                Akane and Ranma both had sweatdrops traveling down the sides of their heads, while I just sipped my tea.

                "Uh... so you're okay?"

                "Oh!  I'm so proud!"

                "You said that already..." Kasumi dabbed her father's eyes dry as Nabiki barely gave notice to her father's outburst as she poured over a book she had in front of her.  It looked to be a manual of sorts...

                "Oh yes.  Of course!  It's just that my baby is growing up so fast!!!" He managed to glomp her rather tightly.

                Akane shifted uncomfortably in his grip.  "Daddy?  Could you... let me go?"

                Genma stood and walked up to Ranma.  "Boy... don't think that this gets you out of our morning training..."

                Ranma smiled nervously.  "HAH!!  I wouldn't want it to!  But about that..." He turned his head and moved his hair out of the way as he pulled the collar of his shirt down.

                Genma's eyes widened as he saw the mark.  "Boy!  Did you know you had a mark on your neck!?"

                I found my face getting a little too close to the floor for comfort, in fact, it was rather painful.

                "Old man?"

                The two grown men immediately bowed as Happosai emerged through an open window.  "Master!  Why are you here?"

                "Keeping an eye on my latest student.  And I want you to watch yourself from here on.  If any more of what went on today happens, I won't be as lenient as those two girls..." He eyed them over as they suddenly shivered, but got the courage to look at him.  "And he does know, he asked me to put it there, and I agreed."

                "But why?"

                "Because, pops, like this, I can be a match with Akane, without having to worry about hurtin her.  Not only that, but this way training is that much more effective!" Ranma had his hands at his sides and was acting pretty smug with himself.  And then he realized his mistake as pain shot through his left arm and he let it swing back into place, grabbing it to steady it a little.  "But you had to go and put my arm out before we could even get started..."

                The two of them suddenly had sweat go down the side of their faces.  I only frowned at my spilt tea.

                Going back to the kitchen to get a towel, I heard some more of the conversation. "So when did the doctor say you could use your arm again, Ranma?" Happosai's voice wafted through the door.

                "What, you weren't there?"

                "Eh... no.  Once you woke up again I left...  I couldn't stay in there any longer..."

                I could practically hear Ranma frown, as I did.  I knew where he had probably gone... the darn pervert.

                "Well, he said I should be able to sleep it off overnight.  That's about it..."

                Genma stood and walked up to Ranma's side.  "Ah!  So you'll be ready for tomorrow morning!" He playfully hit Ranma's shoulder.

                The sound of Ranma's shout could be heard for blocks around.

~~ Furinkan High ~~

                Principal Kuno was looking over the papers given to him by a strange girl with long purple hair and big green eyes.  As he looked her over he thought of plans to get her to cut that two-plus-foot hair off.

                "Ah... tha Big Kahuna be seein no problem here.  I be thinking that it be a good thing that you be coming here.  You seem like good student really." Pulling an apple out of his desk drawer he handed it to her.  "Miss Natsume, would you like a tasty snack?"

                "Yeah!  Thank you!" The perky girl took the apple in one hand and took a big bite out of it.

                A frown crossed her face as she swallowed it.  "This apple tastes funny, here, you have it."  Standing up, she bowed to the man, who looked at the apple and went bug-eyed.  "Nuku Nuku needs to go tell Papa-san now.  Okay?"  Without even waiting for the man to nod she walked away.

                As she walked out, the little firecracker in the apple went off and spewed fire all over the Hawaiian obsessed man.

                As soon as he got over the shock, he pulled out the remnants from the still intact half of an apple.

                He looked at what used to be a cherry bomb.  It had tooth-marks cutting it directly in half.  "Tha Big Kahuna suddenly feel sick..."

~~

                Happosai was addressing Ranma.  "Ranma... don't you think that... well.  I think it would be a good idea to burn that mark off... for now.  You would heal better and faster that way."

                "You think so?" Happosai nodded and Ranma shrugged.  "If you're sure."  Pulling his right hand up he poked out his two primary fingers.

                After a few seconds they started glowing and he reached behind him.

                Using his energy as a way of generating heat, he burned away the mark, just like Happosai had shown him.

                Right away his power took a jump through the roof.  He could feel his strength returning to him as the marks effects were nullified.

                "And, in the meantime, that frees me up for... another run for my silky darlings!" Ranma felt as if he had been played, but let the old man go, as his arm felt better already.

                "Oh well..." He went back to his room as the old man jumped out the door.  "I guess I might as well get my stuff to the living room..."

~~

                "Papa-san!  I'm back!"

                "Oh great!  Nuku Nuku!  Did you see that principal guy?"

                "Yeah!  He was funny too!"

                "Well, that's nice..." 'At least that means I won't have to deal with her in school as well as at home...'  "Oh!  Nuku Nuku!  I've got something for you!"

                "Oh!?  What is it!?" The purple-haired girl could barely contain her excitement.

                "THIS!" Kyusaku held out a pink backpack and Nuku Nuku promptly fell over.

                "Papa-san!  What is it?"

                "Oh, right!  It's a back-pack!" WHAM!  She fell over again.  "But here... let me show you what else..."

~~

                Akiko Mishima was brooding over her latest failure.  Her office-lady assault squad had lost track of that girl somewhere in Nerima.  "Damn you Kyusaku!  I'll get my Ryunosuke back from you SOMEDAY!!!" Suddenly, grinding her teeth into a cloth napkin and pulling hard, literal waterfalls of water began pouring out of her eyes.  "RYUNOSUKE!!!!!!"

                "Lady Akiko!  What are you doing?" Kyoko sighed at seeing her lady crying so again.

                Akiko suddenly went into professional mode. "Nothing that is any of your business."

                "You're right, of course.  But your Grandfather would like your latest report on Mishima funds..."

                "Of course.  They're on my desk... I had them prepared earlier today." Her calm voice was a great contrast to the spastic whining she had been doing earlier.  She allowed her hair to stay in place, pointing down and forward in one single sweep.  Her often angry blue eyes showed no emotion.  She was perfectly detached.

                "And tell Arisa to get Poison One fueled up.  We will be setting out first thing in the morning..."

                "Of course, Lady Akiko." Kyoko took the report and walked silently out of the office.

                Akiko looked out of the window of her hundredth-story office.

                Only one word was uttered.

                "KYUSAKU!!!!!!!!"

~~

                I had cleaned up the spilt tea. (Suon managed to cry over it... okay... maybe not.  But it would have been ironic if he had!)  And since I had a few hours left in the day, and I felt that I had done enough running for the day, I decided to do something else instead.

                "Well, let's see." Looking under the sink, a place Kasumi had been protecting for the last few days, I found what looked to be a fish tank.

                Inside of it was slightly tinted water.  The other half-liter of my blood had gone into this.  Honestly, it still kinda surprised me that Tofu didn't even ask me why I wanted it...  Oh well.

                Within the water were several wooden pieces.  Four of them looked to be rather long and slightly curved at each end.  And the last was a simple wooden ball.

                Frowning, I pulled out the ball.

                This was going to be the simplest to finish.  All I really needed to do was put it in the oven with a ceramic bowl.  And since I had plans, plans that I had just remembered, I could have Kasumi watch it for me.  That would be the best course of action.

                Holding my eyes closed for a second, I took a deep breath.  "Kasumi?"

                "Yes?  What is it?" She stopped when she saw me holding the ball.  "Oh!"

                "Can you cook this for me?  Two-hundred ten degrees at five-minute intervals?"

                "And are you going to finish the others now too?"

                "No... I'll do those tonight.  There'll be fewer people bothering me then..."

                "Ah.  And how many intervals?"

                "It will take a while.  So a coupla hours should get it finished.  And after the first half hour you can probably just let it bake, maybe turning it once..."

                "How high again?"

                "Two-ten."

                "Okay.  That's okay, I was cooking sushi tonight so that shouldn't be a problem..."

                "Thanks Kasu... This means something to me..."

                "Where are you going?"

                "I'm gonna take Ranma and Akane out for something.  Not really bonding, but I think they might have some fun!"

                "Ah.  Well, I suppose that should be okay."

                I smiled.  "Well, don't think too much into it!  I'm actually doing this for some pretty selfish reasons!"

                "Oh?" She looked surprised for a moment.  "And what would those be?"

                "Um, I crashed into someone's fence and I was hopin they'd help me rebuild it..." I put my hands behind my back and smiled.  "Besides!  I said I'd be back later so I pretty much hafta go!"

                "Oh!  That's so considerate!  Ranma and the others usually just destroy things and leave it at that." Kasumi sipped her tea as she waited for the oven to warm up, I nudged the drawer to the sink closed with my foot.

                "Yeah... well.  Thanks anyway.  I gotta go now..."

                "Take care."

~~

                "Say, where are we goin' anyway?"

                "Um, I got a pretty good look at the landmarks I could see from there.  And it was on the way to doc... There it is!!!" I pointed to a still-trashed fence straight ahead.

                I saw some thugs sneakin around, sticking close to the area as if they were thinkin of getting something.

                I smiled as I landed and turned to the other two.  "Okay, I'll go get the lumber... which one of you wants to get the nails?" Ranma rose his good hand.

                "I can make some from a boulder or something..."

                Akane looked over the destruction.  "Man, what'd you do?  Kick it?"

                "Nah!  I tripped and ran into it!  BAM!  I crashed right through it!"

                "Heh, so you've still got the grace of a cow!"

                "Hey!  My shoes lost traction with all the new weight!" My eyes crossed slightly as I came up with a thought.  "Which reminds me, if I'm going to be carrying all that wood, I better lose some weight!" I took a quick note of the thugs' reactions as I pulled off all my belts.  They were already rather skeptical just with me holding them all in one hand.

                Akane decided she could help in another way as I pulled off all my weights.  "I'll take down this destroyed stuff..." She walked over to the fence and started pulling out posts.

                As she pulled a good meter of wood straight out of the ground I saw several of their eyes bug out.

                As I dropped the weights, all at once, I saw some of them fall over as they slightly cracked the sidewalk.  "Wow!  That feels SO MUCH BETTER!!!  I feel like I could jump a mile!"  I decided to test that theory as I prepared to jump.

                Putting a whole lot into it, I jumped close to as high as I could.  Although there was no real reason to wear myself out doing so, I felt that there was no harm in showing off a little.

                I was almost surprised to find that I could now jump higher than a nearby office building.  It was one of the smaller ones of a chain that had emerged in recent years.  Across the side was M.H.I. written in huge letters.  And I could see the heli-pads on the top.

                Smiling with pride, I prepared to descend, which I did.

                By the time I landed those boys were already running away like they were being chased by the hounds of Hades.

                "Well they're no fun." I looked after them as I got up from my landing space.  Surprisingly, despite how high I had gone, I didn't make any kind of crater when I landed...  I must be really good at that.  I guess soft landings ARE about the only way to keep from going through the roofs of various buildings...  Which makes sense.

                Pulling sword one from its sheath I faced the edge of the destroyed section.

                "Let's see if this thing can really cut!" Pulling it back, in a position I had learned in a swords class I was taking (NOT with Kuno!!!) I prepared an under-thrust.

                "HYAAA!!" One sweep.  Two cuts.  Two major beams were cut, removing the damaged section from the still-standing stuff.

                The lady from before came out, having heard all the commotion.  "Oh!  Hi!  I'm back, like I promised!  We should have it finished in not-too-long!" She nodded, seeming to be a little shocked.  She also had a handgun hanging loosely in one hand.

                "Geeze, you could have cut it with a sharpened stick with how much force you put behind that!"

                "Uh, hello?  Sharpened stick?" I knocked it against my head, as if to remind him that it was, indeed, made of wood.

                "Oh, right.  Let's just go get those things..." Ranma jumped off.

                "Go ahead.  I'll keep cleaning up here."

                "Okay.  We'll be right back!"

~~

                It took us a little while to get to where we were going.  Not too long, but it was longer than I would have liked.

                Oh well.

                We ended up in something of a park.  Not really a city park, as it was outside of the city limits.  But it seemed almost like a park, with how clean it looked.

                Ranma found a semi-large boulder, about a third of a meter across and about a decimeter (about ten centimeters, or five inches) thick.  It was in the middle of a river, so she was now rather wet up to the knees.

                I ended up looking for a little longer for my quarry.  And then I found one.  It wasn't too old, so it would still be strong.  And it wasn't too young, so it would have already seeded the area around it.  Not only that, but it was a bit too close to another, smaller tree.

                Taking my sword, I went to work.  Ranko watched me as I did as I had been preparing to do for a while.

                Jumping most of the way up the tree, I cut off about the top ten-feet with one extra-strong swing.  And then I went to work trimming off all the branches.  This took me about ten minutes, considering I had to keep jumping back up.

                Then, cutting it off at the bottom, I went about lifting it up.

                "DARN!!!" 'Stupid thing!' I now had it leaning up against me.  It wasn't really the weight that was getting to me.  It was more the way it kept wanting to sway with the wind.  "Ah!!!" I just let it fall over.

                "Now what?" Ranko had a slightly amused look on her face.

                "Now I trim it some more." Deciding I couldn't carry the whole thing, well, not yet anyway.  I went about cutting it down.

                First, I cut it into sections two-and-a-half meter segments.  And then I trimmed off the outside parts, until they were now little more than rectangular pieces about a third-meter wide.

                "I'm pretty sure I can carry these!" Lifting one up, I was almost surprised how much of a difference it made!  But it was still oozing liquid...

                "Oh yeah!  Ranma, could you do the honors?"

                "Ranko...!"

                "Oh, right... could you heat these some.  But not to the point of starting a fire.  Just to dry them out."

                Letting out a sigh, she jumped atop one of them.  After a few seconds of meditation, she brought out an aura.  A red one that produced a lot of heat.

                I had to guard my face as the confidence in her swept over the area.  But since most of that ended up just staying right there, it didn't really matter what it was.  Just that it was there...

                After a couple of minutes, she opened her eyes and leaned her head down.  Putting one ear to the side of the block of wood she knocked gently on it.

                "It's good." I heard the echoing thump that signified that it was now not-so-full of water.

                Putting the others on their trimmings so that they could dry a little, I picked up the dried one, which still felt rather warm.

                "Okay.  Let's go." Picking up her boulder in one arm, Ranko and I started back.

~~

                It took only a little while to get it done.  I did the cutting and the two of them did the putting-together.  Akane used her mallet to pound them into the ground, and to hit the nails that Ranko carved out of the boulder into place.

                I took a quick leave just before we finished to go somewhere.

                When I came back I had acquired some sealer.  "Hey!  Let's make a race out of it!  A free-for-all!!"

                "Ha!  I'll beat the BOTH of you even WITH my bum, arm!"

                "Yeah!  I'd bet you would!"

                "HA!  Let's go!" We each took a brush, something else I had purchased, and stood at ready.  Akane and I were on one side as Ranma took the other.

                "Ready... GO!" Akane and I started working toward each other as Ranko just stood there for a second.

                "Are you going to go?" I was sweeping it up and down rather quickly.

                She smiled a little.  "I got something.  Chestnuts technique revised: SWEEP OF A HUNDRED BRUSHES!!!  HAHA!!" Faster than even my eye could see effectively she started swinging that brush up and down, going nearly supersonic.

                Before Akane and I could even get most of the way across, Ranko announced that she was finished.  "Hehe, I told you!"

                "Hey, that was cheating!  You used a technique!"

                "Hehe, it's not really much of a technique.  The training just makes you faster!" She had one hand behind her head, the one that happened to have the brush.

                Jumping over the fence, I decided to have a look at her side.

                "Wow.  That's pretty good..." Everything was coated.  All of it, even the cracks, had white sealer on it.

                "Yeah... pops always said if you're gonna do something, do it all the way or you might as well not do it at all." I could sympathize.

                I then went back to the other side and decided to finish.  This time going at a slightly slower pace to get all the cracks.

                "I gotta try that training sometime..." Smiling, I kept at my work.

~~

                "Momma!  Look!  I can even kick it!!!" Kas kicked the new barrier and it didn't even creak.  "See?  It doesn't even make that sound that the old one made!"

                As the boy called Kas kicked the new wooden structure, the three of us went about cleaning up.  "Hey, do you think they might need this stuff back at the dojo?"

                "I dunno.  I guess it couldn't hurt?"

                "Yeah, you got a point..."

                "Hey, you gonna get your weights?" Akane was pointing to the place where my weights still sat, at the center of a cracked square of cement.

                "Oh yeah!  I guess I gotta get those too!" Setting the remnants of the wooden block down and bounding over to them, I went about putting them all back in their proper places.

                After a few good-byes we left with all our stuff.  Mimi still seemed a bit shocked, but that was okay... it was understandable after all.

~~

                When we got back I checked my watch.  There were still a few hours.  So, storing the leftovers in the back of the dojo, which still had rather large holes in the walls, I went to practice.

                Akane, for some reason, didn't feel much like practicing.  And neither did Ranma, though it was rather understandable for him.

                I was so tired!  But I went through my katas anyway.  I was at that for about a half an hour before I realized something.

                I had that sword!  I could practice that here now!

                "Ha!" Bringing it out, I went into my poses and swings.

                Things weren't exactly normal around here, and they never would be.  But I do believe I was making some kind of difference...

                "SHAMPOO!!!!!!!!"

                I sighed.  There were still some things that couldn't be predicted, or stopped.

                So as I went through my katas and forms, I tried to think of a way of tackling that problem.  'No!  That's a problem I can get to later!  The immediate thing is more important for now.'

                'Geeze, what is it with me?  Do I really have to help them all like that?' It didn't take long to come to a decision.

                Yes, I had to.  It was in my blood, or something...

~~

                Dinner was rather uneventful.  Akane and Ranma kept eyeing each other and the fathers kept eyeing their children.  I kept eyeing the stove and Nabiki kept reading some book she seemed rather engrossed in...

                Yep, dinner was uneventful.  But it was good!

                I never thought I would be eating Sushi.  And yet, there I was, eating it, and it was good!

                About halfway through Kasumi went over and turned off the oven.  I assumed that it meant that the ball was finished, but she cleverly disguised it as turning off the top burner as she also pulled the pan off the burner and put it in the wash.

~~ Later, that night ~~

                After everyone had gone to bed, I was still awake.  Well, I suppose Akane was there with me.  But that was it.

                When I pulled out the four longer sticks, Akane glanced questioningly.  With the first one, I wrapped up one end in a rag that I soaked in the same water.  I then took a special heated roller to the edge.

                By the time we were done, four knives, each with a handle in the middle and two blades, like helicopter blades, were finished at the same time.

                Akane helped me to put them in a box and to empty the tank out.

                After that, we went to bed.  By then it was eleven at night.

                ~~~~~~***   Sooo... LONG!!!   ***~~~~~~

                Wow!  That was a long one!  1.5 times the normal length!  I guess that's cool though...

                I know I didn't wrap up all the loose ends, but that's okay cause this story isn't anywhere NEAR finished!!!!  Like most of my stuff.

                Now that I think about it... I wonder how long this IS going to be?  O.o  I have no idea... but it's going to be really long...

                Wow, I have a flare for long stories...

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	13. Monday Morning Trouble

                This chapter is going to introduce something new.  See if you can spot it!

                ~~~~~~***   MONDAY MORNING TROUBLE   ***~~~~~~

                ~~ Somewhere in another district ~~

                Akiko Mishima was just preparing to leave.

                Suddenly, a pair of women in black and pink jumpsuits came into the room.  "Lady Akiko.  Poison One is ready to launch."

                "Good, I'll be there in a few minutes."

                As the two of them left, Akiko smiled.  "I'll get you today!"

~~

                "Ugh... I wish we didn't have to go today." I was nursing my head, which was slightly dizzy for some reason.

                "Well, I don't really see why you feel so bad.  I feel pretty good!"

                "I don't know... I just feel dizzy!"

                "Well, take a bath, maybe you'll feel better."

                "Good idea." I got up and made my way to the bathroom, intent on calming my head down.

                As I walked down the hall, just the movement helped to kick my eyes awake and helped to calm my head down.

~~

                "Well, I feel better!" I came out of the room feeling much better than when I went in.  It didn't take long so I didn't interrupt the household too much.

                But man, Monday's really suck!

                Getting dressed I managed to keep my belts underneath the uniform the school had started requiring I wear.  'I don't know why they make us wear these things.' I looked the thing over.  'I mean... it doesn't even look all that good!'

                Sighing, I decided to just go along with it, like I had been for the last month or so.  'Has it really been that long?'

                "Hey Ranma, you ready?" I fastened the belt to my sword sheath around my waist.  It was something I felt I might need.

                Ranma was now waking up.  "Hey!  I can use my arm!" He was giving it a few test runs.  "Look!  No pain!"

                I rolled my eyes.  "Yeah, that's great Ranma.  Now get ready for school.  Today is one day I do not want to be late for."

                "Oh yeah, we leave today, don't we?"

                "Yeah, we do." 'I don't see why we have to go for the whole day first though...'

                "Okay, I'm coming!" He jumped out of bed and ran to get his stuff ready for school.  Then he noticed that I was in the room.  "Hey, that sword makes you look different."

                "Hmm..." I didn't really feel all that much like talking right then.  A tear fell from my eye as I let out a huge yawn.

                "Boy!  Time to go!" About five minutes later a large, wet panda walked in the back door of the house.

                Yep, we're back to normal.

~~

                "If Kuno bothers me today I swear I'm going to cut that sword of his in half!!!" I really didn't feel like dealing with that idiot today.  I was slightly impatient and rather tired, as I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night.

                "If he even LOOKS at me wrong I'm going to grind his face into the dirt!" Ranma still hadn't forgotten about the other day.

                "I'll probably just kick him like I always do." Akane had no real motivation for revenge on this particular day.

                At this time we were running early.  This was one day we didn't want to be late for, and so we planned to be early.  And besides, we had all that stuff to carry!

                When we got to the schoolyard it was full mostly of those students who had the same idea we did.  Get there early to get your stuff there.

                "Well, it seems a little empty around here, but at least the Hentai gang is still here." I pointed toward the group of boys in the corner who were eyeing us rather unsuredly, as they have been for some time now.

                We stood there for a time, having already put our stuff away, when we heard some shouting from just outside the schoolyard walls.  "Wonder what's going on?"

                "YEAAAHHAA!!!" Suddenly, a girl riding a bike somehow jumped over one of the walls and landed on her rear wheel.  She looked to be having fun too.

                Balancing on the rear wheel she rode the bike over to the bike-rack and let it down.  Her laugh sounded rather like some kind of little-kid's laugh and had a little screech at the end

                Getting off her bike she stood, looking around.  She suddenly smiled and put one fist in the air.  "YEAAAAHH!!  My first day of new school!!  HAHAHAH!!"

                The way she moved said that she didn't seem to understand what all those boys in the Hentai gang were probably thinking about her.

                Akane and I shot a rather angry glance at them, and Ranma started rolling up one of his sleeves.

                They quickly went to playing with their fingers.

                Feeling rather perturbed, I walked over to the purple/pink haired girl, all the while keeping my eye on the gathering in the corner.  I believe they were probably watching that sword of mine as it swung back and forth.

                "Hello there, are you new here?"

                She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at me with a shocked expression on her face.  "Yeah!!  How did you know!?"

                I do believe the sweatdrop I formed could fill a small cup.  "Um, you said this was your first day."

                "Oh!" She looked at me for a second, then smiled in a ditzy way.  "I did?" For the first time that day, my head hit the pavement.  It was rather painful. "Papa-san says I have a habit of saying what I'm thinking without knowing..."  Then she looked at me.  "Doesn't that hurt?"

                "Yes, very much." I nursed the new bruise on my head and stood to face her.  "Hello, my name's Lila, and these two are Ranma and Akane."

                "Hi!" That voice had a screechy sound to it... not to mention something I couldn't quite place.  "My name is Atsuko Natsume, but everybody calls me Nuku Nuku!" Her smile never left her face.

                I could only shudder at what kind of thoughts the Hentai's could be having right then.

                Nuku Nuku then looked over at the entrance.  "Hey!  It's Amy!" Running over to the entrance she met up with a girl with bronze-gold hair and ruby-colored eyes.  She was wearing a Furinkan uniform and dragging a rather large backpack.  "Amy!  What are you doing here?"

                As we went over we saw the girl drop the strap to her pack.  "I transferred here too, Nuku!  And guess what?"

                "What?" Nuku was leaning over in expectation.

                "I have something for you!  Turn around and let me get it out!"

                "Okay!" Nuku started acting rather excited as she turned around.

                "Just stay right there!" Amy got into her bag with a rather interesting smile on her face.  But about the only thing that really perplexed me was how short she was.  She looked like she ought to be in middle school!  Not in high school!

                "You can turn around now!" Nuku turned around and looked at Amy.

                "AAHH!!" Nuku jumped back excitedly when she saw the large, black minigun that Amy was pointing at her.

                "Now, DIE!!  NUKU NUKU!!!"  The expression on the smaller girl's face said that she was totally obsessed with killing that Nuku girl!

                "RUN!!!"

                "Why?"

                Nuku was dumbstruck at the response to her call.  She had yelled out for everyone to run, but now everybody was just standing there, like there wasn't a homicidal maniac standing there waving a high-speed military-issue repeating rifle.  "What do you mean 'Why'?

                Amy looked rather annoyed.  "Nuku Nuku!  JUST DIE ALREADY!!!" She pulled on the trigger and started to laugh insanely.

                CLICK!

                "Huh?" She pulled on the trigger again, and this time she fell on her butt as the large weapon simply fell in half just beyond the stock.

                "Firearms are not allowed on school grounds." Kuno put his sword back into place and stood to full height.

                "HEY!!!  WHAT DID YOU DO!?!?!  DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM!?!?"

                "No, and I don't care to." He then turned around and faced Nuku.  "Now YOU however.  I wouldn't mind to get to know!"

                "_IDIOT!!!_" I struck him across the back of the head, leaving a rather large bruise and his face in the dirt at Nuku's feet.  "Oops, did I hit too hard?"  The answer came when he didn't get up for a minute or so.

                "HEY!! WHO ARE YOU!?"

                I turned around.  I looked the shorter girl straight in the eye.  "That doesn't matter.  What matters is that weapons like that are not allowed on school grounds."

                "JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" She jumped forward and thrust a fist straight for me.

                I was already in defensive position when Nuku shoved me to the side.  "WATCH OUT!!  AAAUGHH!!" She yelled out as she took the hit in the side of her face.

                "I'LL KILL YOU!!!  NUKU NUKU!!!" Amy barely looked human the way her eyes were practically taking over the whole of her face in her blind rage.

                Akane looked a bit shocked.  "So they're fighters too?"

                "Their style is a bit crude.  But they do appear to be fairly strong." Ranma was speaking his take on the situation before them.

                The Hentai's were watching on with interest.  There was another beautiful girl in school.  She could also fight well, and probably easily break their backs too.  But she seemed like she would be easy to talk into anything.

                But these thoughts were far from my mind as I picked myself off the ground.  'Darnit!' I was starting to get angry.  I did NOT want to be late today!  And if this went on, I would never get to class!

                "STOP IT!!!" I pulled the bands off my arms and legs, taking an attacking position.

                "Huh?" Nuku managed to look at me from underneath the other girl.

                "GOTCHA!!!" Amy started glowing and was hitting Nuku with some kind of energy attack that made her scream out.  All that she seemed to be doing was holding on though.

                "I said..." I ran at the two.  "KNOCK!" I rammed my fist into the smaller girl's face.  "IT!!" As she flew through the air I grabbed her hand and "OFF!!!" swung her around and threw her through the concrete wall at the side of the schoolyard.

                Looking at the hole I had made I growled out something more. "I do NOT want to late today!"

                Nuku got off the ground and looked at me disbelievingly.  "Wow!  How did you do that?"

                I didn't really feel like explaining the basics of fighting, but I felt that this could be a special case.  "I hit her." I could practically hear Ranma rolling his eyes.

                Nuku looked over the damage I had done with a look of wonder in her eyes.  And I took the time to gather my weights and test out my hand.  It felt almost as if I had hit a solid wall!  'Hard head...'

                After a little while Nuku Nuku walked back over to us and the general atmosphere of the schoolyard returned to the milling about that it normally was.

                "So your name is Nuku Nuku, huh?" Ranma decided to start the conversation with a simple question.

                I was looking over Kuno... who was still on the ground.  "I didn't hit him THAT hard... did I?"

                "Yeah!  My name is Nuku Nuku!"

                "Are you from around here?" Akane was prying for information from the girl.

                "Not really, I spend most of my time over there." She pointed to a direction that would take you toward a junction in the district lines.

                "Do you live in Nerima?" Akane again.

                "We live right on the border, but I usually spend my time in Nerima!"

                "I'm gonna go wake him up... see if he's still alive." I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, being too busy worrying about Kuno.  He usually got up right away.

                "What about that Amy girl?  Is she always like that?"

                "Yeah!  Amy and me fight all the time!" She smiled and laughed shortly.  "We have LOTS of fun!"

                I made my way to Kuno, who seemed to have managed to turn over to his back.  He was now face up.

                "Tell me, Nuku, is there anyone else after your life?" Ranma asked that question.

                And bleeding!!

                "Yeah, if there's one there's usually many." Akane's observation came from experience with Ranma.

                I was about to start panicking when I noticed his expression.  His eyes were open wide and he had a silly grin on his face.  The blood, of course, was coming from his nose.

                "I have enough experience with THAT to know!" Ranma rolled his eyes at the revelation.

                Then I figured it out.  When he woke up he turned over to his back.  From there he had a perfect vantage point to see up the dresses of two particular girls.  Nuku and Amy.

                "Just one!" Nuku cringed.

                Feeling a vein pop out on my forehead I took his head and rammed his face into the pavement.

                Nuku suddenly looked thoughtful.  And then, out of the back of her head came two strange-looking, ear-like appendages made of some kind of metal.  They had white sides and yellow bordering.  As she moved her head around they twitched, as if they really were ears!

                Ranma and Akane were backing away, taken by surprise for a moment.

                "Mama-san!"

                I heard Kuno mumbling about something.  I picked up his head to see what he was saying.

                "Your mother?" Akane sounded like she didn't believe it.

                Ranma suddenly took a defensive stance, something didn't feel right.

                Nuku backed away from the two while staring into the sky with a frown on her face.

                "Oh!  The great heavens above have sent me another angel!!"

                A red helicopter with two rotors, one in each wing, suddenly appeared just above the skyline.  Inside, Akiko was screaming "FIRE!! FIRE FIRE FIRE!!" over and over at her two sidekicks.  Arisa smiled angrily and hit a red button on the control.  Immediately three missiles shot out of the belly of the plane directly at Nuku Nuku.

                Nuku gasped jumped backward.  Moving quickly she grabbed the two at the side and used her foot to stop the third.

                Kuno got another taste of the dirt.

                Arisa was just about to fire another volley when she noticed that Ranma was hanging off of the cockpit top.

                Angrily, he rammed his fist through one of the tempered windows and leaned in.  Grabbing the control he pulled back, sending the helicopter into a nose-first forward roll.

                He then kicked the nose down and put his hands on the area where the rotors would have been on a normal helicopter as the thing continued to roll until it was upside down.

                "AAHH!!  HE'LL BE CRUSHED!" Nuku put the missiles down, careful not to set them off.

                I got up and looked at what was happening, at this particular point, Ranma was holding a red helicopter off the ground, upside down.

                The three inside managed to crawl out through the window.

                Ranma yelled angrily at them.  "WHAT ARE YOU!?  INSANE!  NO MISSILES ON SCHOOL GROUNDS!!!" He then looked up at the machine he was carrying.  "And as for this..." Crouching down for a second or so, he tossed it into the air.

                In mid-air he met up with it and kicked it up higher.

                When he landed he pulled both fists back and looked up into the sky, where the thing was currently in free-fall.

                Throwing both fists forward he shouted out his attack-call.  "MOKOU TAKABISHA!!"

                Like a small sun, a ball of white light erupted from his hands and flew through the air.

                Upon impact the attack caused the useless pile of metal to erupt in flames.  The explosion was seen for miles around, even though it didn't seem to be all that spectacular from the ground.

                "Well, I guess that works..." I shielded my eyes from any debris that might fall.  Ranma looked fairly pleased with himself as he looked down at the three on the ground.

                "And I would prefer if you didn't do that in the future!" His smile said volumes.

                As they sat on the ground, we began walking into the school, while Nuku Nuku begged for Ranma to tell her how he did that.

                Amy came through the wall, still with an angry look on her eyes.  "NUKU NUKU!!  I'M STILL NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!!"

                She ran up behind us, intent on doing everything she could to get at Nuku.

                She soon found her head buried in the concrete, the imprint of a mallet clearly written across her face.

~~

                Kyusaku 'Papa-san' Natsume watched intently as his cameras picked up on everything that happened all those many miles away.  "HA!  I guess those rumors about super-strong kids at Furinkan were more than just rumors!  I'm such a genius!!"

                "Dad.  Are you taking me to school now?" Ryunosuke was all ready to go.  His ride was going somewhere else now and he really kinda missed the 'Bicycle Express'.

                "Oh yeah!  You're riding with me now!" Kyusaku grabbed some toast and scrambled to get his coat.  "Come on!  Let's go!"

                Ryunosuke sighed as he watched his father run into the closet.  "I really wish he wouldn't stay up all night like that." He slowly made his way to the JEEP and got in, waiting for his father to find his way there.

~~

                "My lady?  What should we do?" Kyouko pleaded with her boss to give them guidance.

                "We leave." She stood and stomped off angrily.  "It's obvious that Ryunosuke isn't here.  So we have no need to be here any longer."

                Arisa had to be dragged away as she was shivering too much to stand on her own.  "More... androids!!!  It can't be!!!"  There was general fear in her eyes.

                ~~~~~~***   Ended Here   ***~~~~~~

                Well, that's the end of another spectacular chapter!  I've been planning that encounter for quite a while too!

                Well, I don't know how long it will take to get this chapter, or any chapters after this, out to the web.  The primary reason is that I'm at the mercy of floppy disks.  Floppy disks that have a tendency to screw up royally.  They mis-handle data and badly represent my art!

                WAAAHH!!!  I CAN'T STAND IT WHEN MY ART IS SCREWED AROUND WITH SO!!!

                So, in order to prevent any kind of messing up... I am now going through a series of checks to make sure that the WHOLE thing is transferred from writing station to posting station without fail and without flaw.

                Thank you for your patronage and your patience with my data problems.

                Alex Ultra: Stupid floppies!

                Alex: So why don't you get a Zip drive?

                Alex Ultra: [Sobs] I'm too poor!!!

                Alex: Oh... that.  Right...

                Lila: It's so sad when an author is reduced to this...

                Alex Ultra: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!  I'M ALWAYS LIKE THIS!!!

                Lila: [Cringes] Really?  I never knew that about you!

                Alex Ultra: Then you haven't been around me enough, have you?

                Lila: -_-''

                Alex: O.o+

                Alex Ultra: ^.^

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	14. Vacation Finally!

                I is back again!

                o.o  What do I say now?  I dunno.  What do I mean I don't know?  I dunno.  Oh come on, I gotta have at least ONE thing to say.  Maybe not.  I'm confusing myself now.  Huh?  What?  Who?  Where?  I'm confused.  @.@

                Don't worry, I'm not always like this, only when I'm tired.  O.o

                P.S.: I'm baaaaackkkk... **Dun Dun Dun**

                ~~~~~~***   VACATION FINALLY!!   ***~~~~~~

                Ranma went and got another mark about halfway through the day, although I didn't remember him ever getting rid of the first one, honestly.  [A/N: Flashback sequence START!!  Alex: No, you've already done that.  Alex Ultra: Oh, right.  My bad.]

                Well, regardless, I noticed it when he walked up to our tree a little late with his lunchtray piled up like usual.  The first thing he said was, "You know, I never noticed just how much food I always get."

                Setting it down a little harshly, he stood up straight and stretched his arms out as he took a deep breath.  Sitting down, he looked at his food greedily and began chowing down.

                As I nibbled on a piece of bread I wondered just where he managed to put all that food.  Reading his aura (something I found I was somewhat adept at) I figured that he was about as strong as Akane now, which was just a bit stronger than me.

                Sighing, I realized that I would probably never catch up to either of them.  I didn't have the background they had.  'Well, I can always try, right?'

                Renewing my resolve to learn as much as possible and get as strong as I could, I stood.  And then I took my tray to get washed.

                Akane watched me go, and then turned to Ranma.  "You think she knows she's putting holes in the cement?"

                Ranma only shrugged, and continued eating.

                Still fussing over my apparent lack of strength, I watched my wrist as I shook my clenched fist in front of me.  'But I'm barely tired!  When I get the chance, I'm gonna add more weight.  To my arms only this time...'

                Frowning, I turned to a tree, that had conveniently been wrapped up tightly in very strong rope.  And seeing as how there were already two girls fighting in the schoolyard, I thought it okay if I just practiced hitting the tree.

                SMACK!  'Stupid dress.'  SMACK!  'Stupid tree.'  SMACK!  'Stupid... me?'  SMACK!  'Yeah, I'm too slow.'  SMACK!  'Argh!  Not fast enough!'  SMACK!  SMACK!  'Well, that's a little better, but not good enough.'  SMACK!  SMACK!  'Come on!  What have you been training for all this time!?'  SMACK!  SMACK!  WHAM!  'No good.  I can kick myself blue, but Ranma'll dodge 'em all.'  SMACK!  SMACK!  WHAM!  WHAM!  'NOT GOOD ENOUGH!'

                I continued to berate myself as I searched my arms and legs for something I was missing.  Some strength, or extra bit of slack that I could cut out to make my hits that much faster.

                SMACK!  SMACK!  SMACK!  WHAP!  WHAM!  WHAP!  SMACK!  'No good, too predictable.'

                Not satisfied with back-hands, I went into spins, jabs with my knee, ramming my head into it, ANYTHING that might fill in that space of time between hits!

                After I had warmed up a bit, I could feel my speed go up a bit, but, still not satisfied, I continued to push... faster.

                Poor tree, I'm sure that if it weren't for the ropes, it would have been worn through by now.

                Akane watched me with a half-lidded stare.  "Wonder what's got _her_ so riled up?"

                Ranma shrugged as he slurped in some more of the unnamed noodle-type-stuff into his mouth.  Pointing to the sky, he referred to the other two girls who were fighting.  "Maybe the same thing as those two?"

                Amy seemed to have pulled a jet-pack out of nowhere and was now flying as the two of them exchanged passes in the air.  Nuku continuously kicked and punched, even jumped off the other girl's head in order to stay airborne.  "Hey!  This is fun, Amy!"

                "SHUT UP!!  I'M GONNA KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!!!" Pulling several knives from the pack on her back, she started throwing them at Nuku at high speed.

                She managed to dodge most of them, and those that she couldn't dodge, she caught.  All except for two.

                SLICE!  SLICE!

                Nuku looked shocked as she saw two locks of hair fall below her (as she was currently flying higher into the sky).

                As tears floated into Nuku's eyes, Amy wondered why the heck Nuku wasn't fighting back.

                "WAAAAHHH!!!  YOU BROKE MY HAIR!!!!"

                As Nuku continued to bawl her eyes out about her hair, Amy took to simply floating there, with a disbelieving, and slightly disgusted look on her face.  'Broke her... _hair_!?!?'

                As Nuku whizzed past her on her way back down, Amy's attention was suddenly back on her pink-haired enemy.  'OH no!  You're not getting away from ME!!'  "DIE!!"

                Akane watched the winged girl as she dived after the falling pink-haired girl, who seemed to be crying about... something.  'I think she needs a new battle-cry.  She's starting to sound like Ryoga.'

~~

                ACHOO!!!

                Ryoga sniffed as he adjusted his pack.  "So where did you say this was?"

                "My boy, isn't that the twelfth time you've asked?"

                Ryoga scratched the back of his neck.  "Y-yeah.  But you see... I've got this problem..."

~~

                Amy caught Nuku no more than four meters from the ground and wrapped her arms around the larger girl, arms and all as she had them up to her chest as she cried her heart out.

                Pulling up sharply, she managed to avoid the ground.

                Akane watched the seemingly heroic rescue from her place by the tree.  'I don't think she did that to save her... it looks more like she's trying to CRUSH her!'  Akane didn't even wince when they rammed into, and THROUGH a tree.

~~

                "Ah, so you're a Hibiki, eh?"

                "Wha?  How'd you know?"

                The old man laughed.  'Old!?'  Ryoga developed a tic in his eye as the topic came up in his mind again.  'Try ANCIENT!'  Ryoga could have sworn that this guy was at LEAST as old as either the mummy OR that old fire-bomb-throwing guy.  What was his name again?  Happysai?  Yeah, that sounded right.

                "Right!  I know that curse!  I should, after all, I'm the one who put it on your family!  Heehee!"

                "Oh." Ryoga nodded.  That made sense.  'Waitaminute.'  "YOU PUT THAT CURSE ON ME!?"

                The old man shook one finger.  "No, I said I put it on your FAMILY."  He somehow floated up to Ryoga's face and put one hand to his chin.  "Ah, yes.  I can see it.  The fog that clouds your vision."

                It took all of Ryoga's efforts to keep from ramming this guy into the dirt.  But two things helped him in that effort, the second of which was a lot more humbling than the first.  The first, of course, was surprise and shock at both the statement, and at the fact that the man was now within an inch of his face.

                The second, was a promise.  The promise... for a cure.

~~

                I stood there... in shock.  My fist floated motionlessly in the air for a time.

                One moment it was there, and the next... I didn't even get the chance to HIT it!  And it just disappeared!

                The sight of a leaf falling through the air brought me back to the present.

                Bringing both hands to my sides and flexing them angrily, I looked around, searching for the culprit of the tree-napping.  [A/N: Interesting choice of words, ne?]

                To the left of the tree-stump I saw a trench that had been dug into the ground.

                With fire in my eyes, I followed the line created by the upturned dirt until I saw them.

                Amy was on top of Nuku Nuku and glowing again as Nuku cried out in pain.  "I'M GONNA FRY YOUR CIRCUITS NUKU NUKU!!!  HAAAA!!!!"

                Tapping on her shoulder, I caught the smaller girl's attention.  "WHAT!?"

                With my eyes downcast, I pointed to the jagged stump that was my tree.

                "SHUT UP!"  Acting as if I didn't matter, she went back to frying Nuku's... curcuits?

                If I had been patient enough, I would have seen the blue symbol on Amy's forehead.  It looked like a six-sided 'u' with a ring of electricity flowing around it.

                But I wasn't patient enough.  I had been _practicing_ and she just went and _destroyed my tree!!!!_

                An evil smirk crossed my mouth as I thought up an appropriate punishment.  'If I can't hit the _tree_, I'll just have to find something _else_ to hit!  And I see several targets right here.'

                Akane winced.  "I don't like that look."

                Ranma finished his plate and looked up to see what Akane was talking about.  "Hey, Akane!  That looks like you!  Or it would if you thought things through..."  Ranma almost missed the scowl cross Akane's face before he recieved a mallet to his.

                Ranma twitched slightly on the ground (with a red circle across his face) before getting back up.  "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

                Akane didn't answer, but instead went back to watching the scene being created across the yards.  For once, Ranma wasn't involved.

                Giving up... for now, Ranma went to watch the scene as well.

~~

                "Um, what are you doing?"

                Ignoring the annoyed, and slightly frightened expression from the Hibiki boy, the old man nodded.  "Yes.  Now apologize."

                Shaken from his confusion, he was suddenly plunged into even more confusion.  "Huh?  Apologize?"

                "Yes, if you don't apologize, I can't remove the curse!"

                Ryoga Hibiki was not so full of pride to not apologize.  But it was hard to apologize if he didn't know what he did!  "Um, I mean no disrespect, but I can't apologize if I don't know what I'm apologizing _for_..."

                "Ah, yes.  I can see where that would provide a problem.  Why don't I explain it to you.  It all started when I was but a boy...  My brother was always a hard one to control, and we fought often.  As most brothers do..."

                With tears in his eyes that the old man didn't catch, Ryoga sat, too afraid to find a place to relieve himself, for fear of getting lost... again.

~~

                CRACK!!!!

                Not even breathing hard, but still slightly satisfied, I stood and watched the results of my work.

                Akane watched, still with that half-lidded gaze, not even noticing that Ranma was taking food from her plate.  "Hey, how many hits would you say that was?"

                "Hmm?" Swallowing the indescriminate piece of... something, Ranma made a quick count in his head of what he remembered of my attack.  [A/N: Yes, it IS her still speaking here.  I let her do the talking, but she still doesn't know what's going on as it goes on.  ;P Aren't I evil?]  "Uh, five."  Pointing in the air, he counted it again as he repeated the pattern in his head.  "Yeah, five.  Five different places."

                "But I only counted three!"

                "Hah!  Check it out Akane!  She's faster than you!" Ranma didn't even try to dodge the mallet, instead he grinned wildly as he flew through the air right behind me.

                Three seperate clattering noises and an explosion got Amy's attention.

                Looking incredulously at the wings of her jet-pack, which were now left unceremoniously at her sides, she figured out what happened.  "HEY!!"

                Another explosion (the fuel pack?) sent her into the ground face-first, her dress covering Nuku's face.

                Beating thoughts of how perverted that particular scene looked out of my head, I picked Nuku Nuku up and tossed her to the side.

                Pulling both hands to the sides of her head, Amy pulled her face out of the dirt and whirled around.  "WHY YOU!  I OUGHTA KILL YOU!!"

                I laughed... a slow chuckle through clenched teeth that sounded a bit like I had lost my mind.

                Picking up my face, I pulled my right hand to my side and flexed it, showing the slight scratches I had gotten from hitting the corners of her jet-pack.  "Lookit!  I found a new punching bag!"

                The wild look in my eyes had the desired effect on her as she backed away a little.

~~

                "And that is where dragons come from!  Or came from, until those stupid Europeans killed them all.  I swear, just because thay have a sword and shield they think they can just go and do whatever they want!"

                "Excuse me sir... but is this story going somewhere?"

                "Eh?"  The old man looked blankly at the lost boy for a moment before closing his eyes.  "Oh yes, yes.  I'm getting there.  So, you see, in my travels through the far north regions of China, I came across a dragon egg.  Now, being the conscientious man I am, I took the egg home to care for it.  Now, everyone always says that dragons are close to impossible to control, even if raised from birth.  But I had seen it done many times before so I thought nothing of this warning."

                Ryoga had tears in his eyes as he sat, squirming every once in a while.

~~

                As I walked away from the pile named Amy, I flexed my fist.  'You picked the WRONG day to get on my nerves!'  My eye twitching just a little, I had another thought that I had from time to time.  'Man, being a girl can really SUCK!'

                And it didn't help that I got the FULL package.  'Stupid pain, stupid cramps, stupid hurting knuckles, stupid hard head, stupid, stupid, stupid...'  I continued on this train of thought for a while, until the bell sounded, signalling that it was time to get back to class.

                At that point, my thoughts shifted a little.  'Stupid perverts, stupid light books, stupid brittle pencils, stupid hard seats, stupid preachers (teachers)...'

~~

                "And so, he then went to the Jusenkyo springs and dunked him in... now which one was it?  ...  Oh yes!  It started with an 'N', but it was basically the spring of the drowned girl.  And then he dumped water from... oh, what was it called?  Ah, my memory must be escaping me...  That funny metal artifact that locks curses...  Well, that's..."

                "Is that it?  Is that why you cursed him?  For cursing a man to be a woman?"  True, that man WAS a thief, and probably deserved to be treated thusly, so Ryoga couldn't really follow this old man's train of thoughts.

                "Oh, it wasn't that.  I probably would have turned him into a rabbit or something." He snickered at this, then became serious again.  "No.  Rather, it was because he issued a punishment without consulting his master!"

                Ryoga finally understood and got to his knees as he made his gaze go straight down.  "I'm sorry for my Grandfather's indescretion and his refusal to apologize.  And I'm also sorry for this, but if I don't relieve myself soon, I'm afraid I'm going to explode in my pants!!!"

                Smirking a little at the outburst, he laughed lightly.  "Ah, well, I appreciate the effort, but it is not _me_ to whom you should be apologizing."  Also, almost as if as a second thought, he pulled a strange scroll from his pack.  "Here, take this, and you shouldn't get lost, so long as you don't stray too far from this building or drop that.  If you should drop that, even for a second, it is likely you will lose yourself rather quickly."

                "REALLY!?"

                "Yes!  Now go!  I don't need to see you... explode."

                Ryoga ran off quickly, for once, not feeling lost as he found a tree, and did his business.

                "No boy!  Don't move from that spot!  You forgot the map!"  Ryoga suddenly realized that the voice was correct, and decided not to move his feet from that spot until the man found him again.

                The old man walked disbelievingly up to the boy and shoved the map into his hand.  At that point, the boy became comfortable with sitting down, after moving away from the tree a little.

                The old man chuckled a little as he sat as well.  "My spell seems to get much stronger with time.  Not only can you get lost finding the exit to the bathroom, but you tried to take that map from me, from the wrong hand!"

                Blushing, Ryoga repeated the 'Imaginary Itch' maneuver and smiled.  "Yeah, well.  I have noticed that it has gotten worse as I grew older."

                Chuckling, the ancient man explained the rules.  "If you truly intend to right what wrongs you can, here is what you must do."

~~

                **_Go to the grave._**

                That seemed simple enough, but what if he got lost?

                **_As long as that is your intended destination, the map will lead you there._**

                But he had never been any good at following maps.

                **_The map is a magical artifact attuned to the soul of the target.  It doesn't just point, it pulls._**

                Well, he could follow a pull fairly easily, he hoped.  But what if it got wet and stopped working?

                **_Being a magical artifact, it doesn't stop working, or wear away, until it's purpose has been fully served._**

****Does that mean that he wouldn't be able to find his way back when he's finished?

                **_No, it will only erase itself after you have returned here._**

                So what does he say when he gets there?

                **_What you told me should be good.  Except that, since it wasn't your crime, you are going to have to apologize slightly differently.  What you say doesn't really matter too much, so long as you mean it._**

                But what of that girl?  What will apologizing solve?

                **_Not much, except to allow her to rest more peacefully.  It is true that she committed a crime, but she was committed against when she was punished by someone other than the one she robbed, even without his permission._**

                Is that why you punished him?  Because he committed a crime?

                **_Yes and no.  He committed a crime, but he also dishonored his master by refusing to apologize.  That is why I punished him, to teach him humility.  I created this map because I foresaw this exact problem._**

****Ryoga closed his eyes as the instructions went through his mind.  He wasn't even actively walking.  He was allowing himself to be led, watching only for trees and other obstructions.

                It was true, with the map in his hands, he did seem to be able to keep track of landmarks better, but no use in taking stupid chances and getting lost again.

                As he continued to allow himself to be led along, he remembered his last words to the old man before he left.

                "Hey, old man.  I never asked your name?"

                "Handosai."

                Handosai looked puzzled for a moment at the boy's reaction to his name.  Upon hearing it, he began laughing his head off.

~~

                Contemplating the boy's odd retreat, Handosai suddenly smiled.  'So I see you've met my brother.'

                With that explanation, he didn't find the boy's reaction all-too-offending.  It WAS much better than MOST people's reactions.

                Rubbing the back of his head out of habit, he pushed all thoughts of his brother out of his mind.

                'I hope that boy will accept me as his master, I see such potential in him.  And he would be the perfect pupil!  Determined, motivated, not quick-witted, but at least he means well.'  He closed his eyes as his thoughts wandered just a little.  'He almost reminds me of his grandfather as a boy.  If a bit more scatter-brained...'

~~

                There it was.  Ryoga now stood in front of the grave of that woman, once a man, who his grandfather had wronged.  Having come from England, she was buried there.

                Ryoga was glad that the map had given him sense enough to take a boat there.  It would have been difficult to keep track of the map as a pig, especially in the water.

                And now he stood there, staring at the grave.  The map gave a slight tug as he stood motionless, not really knowing what to say.

                He had seen these English people before.  They had a strange way of showing they meant something, and he intended to at least imitate that gesture.  Besides, it did kind of remind him of a traditional bow, except on one knee.

                Falling to one knee, he put his head down and closed his eyes solemnly.  "I..."  'Should I speak in English?  I don't know English.  I guess Japanese should do, he said it didn't really matter all that much.  "I have heard of the crime committed against you by my ancestor, and although it was not my crime, it was still a crime.  I know that many people would say that it isn't my place to apologize for my grandfather, but that doesn't really matter to me."  As he went on, it became slightly easier.  "I know what it's like to be stuck in the body of something you were not meant to be.  And although you were still human, I also understand that in your time, a woman was treated much differently than they are now, and that such a change would probably have been quite a shock."

                Thinking of this, he realized that nothing he could think of seemed to be quite enough, but he did his best.

                "I want you to know that I apologize.  I can't find the words to really describe what I want to say, but I can hope that the best I can will be good enough."  That puts that to the side.  "I have been told that it was not the curse itself, or the 'punishment' as it was called, that was wrong.  But I find more wrong in that than most people could think, and to say that I sympathize would be an understatement.  If I could, I would find my grandfather and demand that he apologize himself, but... I can't.  He's dead and I don't even know where, or IF he was buried."  He was beginning to choke on his words slightly, but went on.  "I'm not really sure what to say, but please know that I apologize for his indescretion, and I also apologize that this couldn't reach you in life."

                Standing straight, he added a traditional Japanese bow as an afterthought.  "I do not approve of my grandfather's actions."  Standing, he looked at the ground.  "Although I also do not approve of the act that led to it.  Greed is such a terrible thing to be consumed by, or led by."  Not even taking a moment to note the name on the gravestone, he turned.

                The map was leading him again, this time in the opposite direction.  He seemed to be assured by that.

~~

                "Is it?" The sad, helpless look from her companion told her that it was.

                Akane tried to console her friend as a certain someone walked into the waiting area, where the Freshman class (the WHOLE Freshman class, not just class f) were waiting to be told what to do.

                Lila scowled noticably when she noticed that Kuno was walking toward the two of them.  "Akane, remember what I said about Kuno?"  Akane nodded, yeah, she remembered.  "If he gets on my nerves even _once_, that sword is going to be in two pieces before he leaves this room!"

                Three minutes later, Kuno left the room, the imprint of the flat of a sword across his forehead showing in light pink.  Both halves of the broken sword lay beside a fuming blue-haired girl.

                As Ranma entered the room, he noticed the red aura surrounding Lila.  'Are those fumes rising off of her?'  Moving over to them, he motioned to take the relatively safe place next to Akane, rather than Lila, who now had a small ring of space around her as everyone there moved at least a full meter from her, save for Akane, of course.

                As Ranma silently sat, he took note of the aura, one for which he was in the 'Danger Zone'.  'Man, I wonder how big of a twister I could make on THAT aura?'  He would have probably said that aloud had Akane not given him a harsh glare before he could even think it.

~~ An indescriminate amount of time later ~~

                Principal Kuno walked into the room, immediately noting how much the temperature of the room reminded him of their destination.

                Seeing the probable reason for this, he made a note to get to the point and not to annoy THAT girl any further.

                Twitching his left hand involuntarily, he cleared his throat and began.  "Now, I be sure that you don't want to hear a lot from me, so I gonna get right to it.  There be a BIG truck out back to take all your things to the plane.  After that, you go home and, well, do whatever to be ready for Hawaii," Deep voice, "_The Greatest Vacation Place on da Planet!_" He then dropped back into his normal voice.  "Now, tha Big Kahuna be wantin you all to remember your assignments." Almost as an afterthought, he added to this.  "Anyone who make a 'D' or less, be gettin their hair done by yours truly."  There was a little whispering at this, as well as some nervous glances toward a certain set of people sitting in the center of the room.

                Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there was no real change in the three of them.  Lila's aura had diminished somewhat to a faint outline, but no one dared to get any closer except the bravest of them.  This consisted mostly of the people she already knew and were on good terms with.

                Strangely enough, among these was one boy with a blanched face and wide eyes.

                Seeing he was getting less and less attention directed on himself, he cleared his throat again and adressed the room, whether they were listening now or not really didn't matter.  "Now everybody be goin now.  There be no need to be stayin' here now."  With that, he left, feeling less nervous now.

~~

                Lila was brought out of her meditation by a friendly hand on her shoulder.  "Hey, we're going."

                Nodding, Lila suddenly spun around and smiled as she put her chin on one hand and said elbow to her knee.  "Hey Hikaru.  What's up?"

                Hikaru Gosunkugi suddenly began tapping his index fingers together.  "I wanted to see if you were okay..."

                Smiling, Lila stood and offered him her hand, the wrist to which was laden with those odd black bands.  Hikaru accepted the hand and proceeded to look at the floor, stealing a quick glance at first Akane, and then at Ranma.

                Shifting his feet a bit, he spoke softly.  "I'm glad to see that you're okay."  Turning around, he disappeared in the crowd.

                Lila sighed.  'I guess it's progress...'

~~

                "I don't get it Li'.  I mean, no one even _notices_ him!  And he never makes himself known.  But..." Ranma sighed, not really knowing the words to say what he wanted to say.

                I didn't respond visibly, or at least I don't think I did.  "Ranma, does he strike you as the lonely type?"

                Ranma's eyes crossed a bit in thought.  "Yeah, I guess.  Wait, wasn't that my point?"

                "That's _my_ point.  I can't stand to see someone that lonely." I smiled as an image came to mind.  "It makes my head spin around and causes me to go into uncontrollable convulsions."

                Ranma smiled in a good-natured way.  "I thought that was your reaction to Akane's cooking!"

                As I laughed some, Akane managed to jump atop the fence and boot him off, into the ditch on the other side.

                About ten seconds later, a rather wet Ranko joined our group.  When she looked at me, I gave her a look that said 'THAT, you deserved!'

                Ranko didn't look mad in the least.  "Okay, I deserved that.  But you have to admit, that was SO perfect, I couldn't pass it up!"

                Akane looked pleasantly up at Ranko.  "My cooking's getting better, right Ranma-chan?"

                "Oh yeah!  You bet!"  In other words, he didn't puke the last batch out.

                The odd thing about that dish was that it was different.  Ranma's was dry, Genma's was soggy, mine was salty, Suon's was burned, Nabiki's was (apparently) somewhat bland, as was Kasumi's, and Akane herself had one that somehow smelled like fish.

                Yep, I'd say it was getting better.

~~

                Ryoga came out of the restroom of the small resturaunt.  It was at exactly at that point that he made a sudden revelation.  "OH COME ON!  TEN SECONDS!?"

                It took him another ten seconds to realize that he had the map in his pack that whole time.

                Smiling, he pulled it out.  "Ten seconds can make all the difference."

                ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter  14   ***~~~~~~

                Ah, plots begin and end.  Every word has it's purpose just as each cell has its own path.

                And yes, Ranma's got the mark back.  He probably can't lift helicopters anymore.  O.o  Somehow, that seems odd.  But oh well.

                Yay!  Chapter 14 finished!  Now maybe 15?  Probably.

Bringer of Hope and Creator of Worlds

                Alex and Alex Ultra

                                LATER


	15. Thoughts

                Hehe, I have something for you, my loyal readers.  Catch it at the end of today's chapter.

                For now, I really have nothing to say other than check it out.

                So, up with chapter 15!

                ~~~~~~***   THOUGHTS   ***~~~~~~

                Sigh.  Flying is boring.  At least in a plane it is.  And it seemed as if it was taking forever to get there.

                The view out the window wasn't great.  I saw clouds.  Lots of em.  And below that was blue ocean.  We might as well have been on top of that water, except for the clouds.

                Pulling out my wooden ball, the one infused with my blood, I began to look at it, inspecting it.

                Inspection over, since I didn't know what I was looking for, I began concentrating.

                Of course, my mind as active as it is... my thoughts began to wander.

~~

                She had no real identity.  But really, that wasn't all that uncommon around here.

                But she had to have a believable past, or else an identity couldn't be made for her.

                So, they got together to make one.

~~

                So long ago, an American pair of Japanese descent gave birth to a baby girl.  They never registered her, though, because they had planned to raise her as Japanese, and take her back to Japan.  They lived in a very remote region of the state of Washington and grew their own food, so they never had much contact with the English part of civilization.

                When she was fairly grown, sometime between thirteen and fifteen, they got on an uncharted boat with a number of supplies and headed out for Japan.

                When they landed, they headed for downtown, blending in rather well with the rest of the population.

                That is, until they met a demon on the streets of Juuban, probably a Youma or some other type.  The Youma turned on them and killed both of her parents, but avoided the child until the Sailor Senshi took care of the problem.  The supposed reason for this was that she resembled one of the Senshi themselves, mostly because of her bright blue hair.

                The event was so traumatizing that all memory of it was forgotten, lost forever to recollection.  The Tendos claimed that they had gotten this part from her under hypnosis.

                She then wandered the streets of Tokyo for some time, unknowing of where to go or what to do.

                She then ran across the Tendo's and Saotome's and was taken in there at the age of sixteen, where she now resides and takes lessons in self-defense and also attends school.  It is presumed that she had been home-schooled as she seemed to have been at the appropriate educational level for her age, even despite having been on the street alone for some time.

~~

                Allowing the energy to pass back out of the ball, I put it away, into the bag I had as carry-on.

                Sleep sounded good right about then.

                Resting my head on a pillow that I had been provided, I closed my eyes.

~~

                The dream came.  She hated that dream, and the fact that Mr. Saotome had put it there.  The Dream was only an unfortunate side effect, but playing with memories usually has side-effects.

                She was there, in the unfamiliar streets of Juuban.  And before her stood two people.

                She had long ago resigned to watching the events of the dream.  But it always disturbed her.  Even if the events in it weren't real.

                They walked the streets for a while until they heard screaming.  In the confusion, they decided to hold together to keep from getting lost.

                They held her to keep her there.  She was confused and scared, who wouldn't be?  Explosions were rising over the screaming, and the shouts of some kind of monster could also be heard.

                When the people had thinned out, they were there and were ready to run.

                But there it was.  A giant black bug-like thing.  Words could barely describe it, but it was definitely intimidating.

                It approached them, intent on getting _them_.

                She didn't understand, but she obeyed when she was told to run.

                But it was to no avail.  No matter how hard she ran, the creature was faster than her.  And when she stopped to look at it, she saw something she didn't want to see.

                Impaled by each of its pincers were the dead forms of each of her parents.

                She didn't see her real parents, from the world before.  Nor did she see the people she was supposed to have been with.

                When their shocked, and very dead, faces were exposed to the sky, she saw them.

                Ranma and Akane.

                As she cried uncontrollably (as she could tell that she had cried, and probably would again) the demon approached her.  Slowly, menacingly, he made his approach.

                In a deep, reverberating voice, he spoke to her in nearly-perfect Japanese.  "Are you the Sailor known as Mercury?" Venom was pouring from his voice, and his voice-box as well, as he neared her.

                She could smell the rancid smell of his voice.

                When she didn't answer right away, he became impatient.  "ARE YOU SAILOR MERCURY!?"  The booming of his voice could still be heard in her mind.

                "AAHH!!" She cringed and rolled up into a ball as she began to cry more forcefully now.  She wanted to leave, to be gone from here.  She wanted to go back home!

                "MERCURY BUBBLES!" The demon's arm froze just as he was about to strike her, this distracted him enough for one of the other senshi's to get the girl away from him.

                All they had seen was a demon that had cornered a young girl.

                One of them had taken her from where they were fighting the demon.  A calm, yet commanding voice broke through to her ears.  "Run, we'll take care of this, get away from here _now_."

                That was just what she wanted to do.  She ran.  She ran for days.

                But now she was scared, and alone.

~~

                "Aaah!" A quiet gasp escaped my lips as I darted awake.  I was in a cold sweat and breathing hard.  My heart was racing and beating so hard I was afraid it might burst out of my chest.

                Realizing that it was only a dream, I laid back down.

                'Damn.  Hypnosis is really effective.'  It was supposed to be a fail-safe, in case the government wanted to check me under hypnosis to confirm the story.  But that was the problem with memories.

                Once it's there, it never leaves.

                'Mr. Saotome is going to _pay_ for that one!'

                A smile crossed my lips as I went back to my sleepy state.  'Panda-skin rugs...'

~~

                Another dream came to her now.  For some reason, they didn't want to leave her alone.

                This one was different.  She was there, with Ranma and the others, and they were walking the streets of Nerima toward their school.

                It seemed slightly off right then, as it wasn't just her, Akane, and Ranma.  Ukyo, Shampoo, Ryoga, even the Kuno pair were there as well.

                They walked the empty streets until they came upon a dark form.

                Not dark as if shadowed, but it was actually _black_!

                Slowly, it turned around to greet them.

                When its face was exposed, Lila gasped.  This... demon?  Whatever he was, he looked just like Ranma!

                A crude smile crossed that face that seemed rather out of place on the familiar features of perhaps her closest friend.  Looking straight at her, it charged.

~~

                I awoke with a start, yet again breathing hard and in a cold sweat.

                Falling back on the pillow, I sighed.  'Maybe sleep isn't the greatest thing for me right now.'

                I didn't really have much choice in the matter.  As five minutes later, I was breathing softly again.

                I slept calmly for the rest of the trip.

~~

                I awoke this time to Akane's gentle prodding.  "Hey, wake up.  It's time to go."

                A voice came over the intercom.  "Please buckle your seat-belts for landing."

                The attendees were going down the aisles waking people from their slumber, seeming to have just waken up themselves.  Either that or they were rather close to falling asleep.

                I did as instructed and waited for landing.

                It was rather uneventful from there on.  We landed, got our stuff, gathered the class, and made our way to the hotel that was sponsoring us.

                Shampoo was there, dragging her packs of who-knows-what with her.  There were a number of other people there that I recognized, even Kodachi Kuno, who came of her own volition.  Her brother had apparently wanted to go, but seeing as how I broke his sword on his forehead, and he really needed to catch up in his work, he decided not to come.

                I almost wondered which of those was the deciding factor.  'Probably the schoolwork...'  My sigh turned to a yawn barely before I managed to start it.

                The class was separated into boys and girls, Ranma being classified as a boy (of course), and were separated into rooms.

                Of course, the line was there, but it was like the border to Canada from the US.  There was a lot of 'Free Immigration' both ways.

                I ended up in a room with Akane and two other girls I wasn't especially familiar with.

                Not one to ask questions when tired, I placed my stuff in a corner, and crawled into the bed Akane had decided we would share.

~~

                "Handosai, I have done what was required of me." Looking at the map that had led him there, he looked up at the old man.  "Should I give this to you now?  Or how does this work?"

                At the old man's silence, he got suspicious.  He searched for clues.

                'Bag?  No.  Color of choice?  Blue, not black.  Hair?  None.  Waitaminute, they're both bald.'

                "Ah!  The map confirms it!  Come here."

                His suspicion gone, he approached the man.

                Before he could say anything or react in any way, the man took out a fan and swung it before his face, sending a rather violent wave of air to knock him down.

                As he climbed his way out of a tree, he yelled at the old man.  "Hey!  What was that for!?"  Noticing something was amiss, he searched his person for clues.

                He found nothing.  Which was the problem.

                "AAAHHH!!  WHERE'D THE MAP GO!?" He looked around the tree to see if maybe it fell from his grip there.  Not finding it there, he wondered if the old man had it.

                Looking in the direction of the old man, he saw it there, fluttering in the air, not landing, but still falling just the same.

                Running quickly, he snatched it up, getting lost NOW definitely wouldn't help his situation.

                "Congratulations!  You're free of the curse!"

                Blinking cluelessly, Ryoga looked at the old man.  What did he mean?

                'All I did was get the map back... that's not...' That's when he realized it.

                He had gotten somewhere WITHOUT the map!!

                Standing tall and proud, a tear came to his eye.  He was free of the curse!  But how?

                His questioning glance was answered in a rather odd manner.

                Smiling, the old man covered half his face with the fan he had used to knock him down.  Across the front of it was a Chinese symbol.

                By itself it looked mysterious, or it would have had Ryoga not known what that symbol meant.

                In literal terms, that symbol translated to one simple word.  'Defogger'

                "Heehee!  I blew away the fog that clouds your vision!  And it carries across to the rest of your family as well!"

                Had he energy enough left, he probably would have face faulted.  But right then, he opted to sit down and enjoy the feeling of not being _totally_ lost.  Even though he wasn't really sure of where he was, at least he knew where he was in relation to the trees and building around him.

                Looking gratefully, but curiously, to the ancient man, Ryoga voiced a question he had been meaning to ask the master.  "Excuse me, but might I ask a question?" Seeing a ready expression, he continued.  "You said that you raised that dragon-egg.  But what happened to him?  He isn't here, is he dead?"

                "Ah yes.  A good question.  Well, in a way, yes and no." If he could, Ryoga would have made question marks appear over his head.  Instead, he opted for looking confused.  "I realized that he was truly the only dragon left in the world.  The life of the last dragon is lonely, and I often wondered if there was something better I could do for him.

                "One day, the Musk prince, what's-his-name came up to me.  He inquired about the dragon, to see if he might be allowed to perform their ceremony on him." Crossing his arms, he indicated that he had thought hard about it.  "I gave it much thought, and in the end I agreed.  I can't remember what name they gave the new Queen, but I did manage to catch the name of her son.  Herb, I believe it was."

                "WHAT!?!?  Herb is...?"

                "You know Herb?"

                "Uh, yeah, we met, once.  Tough girl, tougher guy." He snickered a bit as he recalled the odd dragon-born prince/princess.  "But wait a minute.  You know the Musk?"

                "You don't?"

                "What do you mean?"

                "Well, to answer your first question, yes.  Yes I know the Musk.  We formed an estranged alliance some time ago when I rescued a number of their warriors from a dragon-herd."  He looked at Ryoga with an odd expression that could have been seen as un-connected disbelief.  "And I suppose you _wouldn't_ know this.  But you should know this as well.  The first, and so far _only_ favor I asked in return was to be provided with heirs to my school."

                Taking one hand, he moved Ryoga's lower jaw down as he used his index and middle finger to touch the tips of each of his fangs.  "Your grandfather was a wolven Musk warrior that took his place as my student after he saw me in action against those dragons that day."

                Ryoga's eyes went wide as he jumped away and clamped his mouth shut in disbelief.  "ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M A MUSK!?!?"

                "Well, not fully, but yes.  The blood did thin some in the two generations that passed, I can tell.  But those fangs are a bit of a reminder.  I've also seen your grandfather's eyes in you."

                Ryoga was beginning to hyperventilate as he tried to take it all in.  "They... and me... and I... but... how?  ...wolf?"  As he calmed down, he thought about it.  "Yeah, I guess I am a bit like a wolf.  A lone wolf."

                "Hehe, that's the spirit!  So how about we get rid of the pig?"

                "Oh yeah!  I nearly forgot about that!  How do I do it again!?"

~~

                **_Go to the Jusenkyo springs valley._**

                He did that already.

                **_Ask the guide about a similarly named mountain._**

                He was climbing the mountain now.

                **_Atop the mountain there lies a beast by the name of 'Arashi'._**

****He could see the cave already.

                **_Whatever you do, you must not fight him, or be threatening in any way._**

                He sat in a meditative position just outside the cave.  It was cold and he shivered lightly.  But he stayed calm as he performed the next step.

                **_On the ground outside his cave, draw this set of symbols._**

                Three symbols now lay drawn in the snow, and refused to disappear no matter how much the snow wanted to blow them away.  One for Jusenkyo.  One for honesty.  And one for freedom.

                **_They will react to the mountain, and call forth Arashi._**

                The three symbols began to glow with a soft golden glow.

                With time, the rumblings of a large creature coming out of its cave came closer, closer, and closer.  Until finally, Arashi emerged.

                He was like a large hairy ape with white fur covering him from head to large toe.  'The Yeti?'

                **_From there, it is up to you.  Do as asked when asked, and be sure you have an answer when he is ready to ask._**

                The Yeti that went by the name Arashi looked down at the boy.  A calm, intelligent voice came from him as he regarded the human.  "So you have a Jusenkyo curse?"

                Ryoga nodded.  "Yes."

                **_Keep in mind.  He is not more powerful than the Jusenkyo springs.  He is only *as* powerful.  So he cannot simply remove the curse._**

                "So you wish to have your curse changed by me."

                Again, a nod.  "Yes, please."

                Nodding, the white giant walked slowly back into his cave, and then came back out carrying a strange golden pan.

                "What is your choice for an alternative curse?"

                Ryoga had given it much thought.  And he was ready to respond.  "The white wolf."

                Smiling as he did so, the gentle giant stuck one finger into the water that sloshed gently to his touch.

                A slight glow emanated from the pan and then faded away.

                The yeti handed him the pail, which gave off an odd warmth.  "The water will cool soon, and will no longer have its effect.  Now is the time for you to make your final decision.  Once changed, I cannot change your curse again.  If you wish to change your mind, that can also be done now."

                Ryoga looked into the water.  There was steam coming off of it, and he could tell that it was hot.

                Closing his eyes, he poured the water over himself, reveling in the warmth, but not particularly comforted by the cold wind that cooled it against his skin.

                **_Once done, he will take the pan back into the cave with him.  You should leave then.  If you returned, or performed any of these again, he would not appear for you._**

                Offering a thank you as he handed the pan back to the gentle beast, he watched him retreat back into the cave with a smile on his face.

                As he left, he wondered what it was going to be like for him from now on.  True, in most of the places he went, white was not the color of wolves in the area, but that seemed most appropriate to him somehow.

                **_When you have finished, I would like for you to come back here.  If you wish, you may receive training from me, just as your grandfather did.  Although he never finished, I have higher hopes for you._**

                'I do too, old man...

                'Ryoga Hibiki of the Wandering Dragon School of Martial Arts.  That has a nice ring to it.'

                Continuing on, Ryoga made his way to his future master's dojo in the middle of China.

                ~~~~~~***   End of Chapter 15   ***~~~~~~

                ~ Special Bonus ~

                _"She is coming."_

_                "Who?"_

_                "_**She**_ is coming."_

_                As waves of power radiated off of him, his thoughts wandered back to his mother.  What would she think of him now?_

_                "Sir.  It's not just in Tokyo.  There are reports of it coming in from news reports all over the world.  China, France, all the Americas, even Russia and Africa.  This can't be a coincidence."_

_                "My master doesn't like when naughty people stand against her."_

_                "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_                ~ _End of Previews ~

                Hehe, what did you think of that?  High quality stuff, huh?  ^.^ I think so!  But maybe I'm just a little vain.

                But I wonder why no one new is reading this?  O.o I thought it was pretty good.  [Taps index fingers together]  I don't know.

                Geeze!  All the other stories all have LOTS more reviews than me!  And some of those are SHORTER!

                I wonder if it's something I'm doing wrong... [mumbles to self]

                Oh well, whatever.  I'm proud of it regardless!

                And special thanks goes to Kurai, who has been my most constant reviewer thus far.  Gracias!  O.o  I can't remember the Japanese word for it.  Or else I woulda put that here.

                Okay!  I'm done!

Alex Ultra: Creator of Eternal Realm

                                LATER


	16. Fury of Fate

I'm back!

Well, I suppose I ought to keep this story moving, since it's my longest, most complete Ranma story.

"[English.]" OR "[Walkie Talkie Talk]" (Use your judgement to figure out which)

"Chinese."

"Japanese."

"(Todrogan.)" (Don't ask...)

There is probably going to be a bit of name-dropping going on. Don't worry too much, that's just me expressing my likes. .

Right.

FURY OF FATE

Tatewaki Kuno was sitting in his room at his family's expansive estate. At the current moment, he was trying to do two things at once. His homework, and thinking about his pig-tailed goddess that still proved so elusive. In other words, nothing was really getting done.

The manic laughing echoing through the halls didn't bother him, he was used to it. Kodachi was often like that.

Rather, he wanted to know exactly _why_ his pig-tailed goddess disliked him so. There was, in his mind, no reason for her to continue disliking him, especially after he had treated her so generously.

The beauty she had displayed on that night was still having an effect on him. Not only did she display her natural beauty; but every fiber of her being shouted to the heavens, capturing the hearts of angels and the eyes of gods. Her beauty was of nothing on this Earth; every graceful step and every look was that of one who's heart was so pure that even that dark sorcerer Saotome shouldn't have any kind of hold on her.

And yet she continued to evade him. Every time he saw her, she was in casual dress, and did not appear broken.

Somehow, sometime, he had freed her! He was sure of it!

He was so inspired by his revelation that he felt like he could go join his sister in her laughter.

'Hey, wait a minute... Kodachi is with her lover Saotome...' Poking his head out of the door to his room, he listened more intently to the laughter echoing through the Kuno mansion.

It definitely wasn't that of his sister. It held a deeper intone, and the tune of it was far different. Where Kodachi sounded like an actress playing a part, this sounded like a truly insane laughter. The choked, manic laughter most often heard echoing through the halls of a mad-scientists laboratory.

Determined to find the source of the unnatural laughter, Kuno roamed the house following the sound to its source.

After a short while, he ended up in a large ill-used room with many books, the library.

Moving from isle to isle, he eventually found the one from whom the laughter was coming forth. Standing atop a table in the middle of one of the pathways was a man of medium height. He wore a black cloak and was standing completely motionless, save for the small twitching movements caused by his laughter.

"Say! Villain! Who is it that dares to trespass on Kuno property!?"

Noticing the boy behind him, the man's laughter stopped. Slowly, he turned around. The smile on his face matched the laughter he had been emitting to a 'T'. His smile held no malice, nor did it reflect hostility, worry, or any kind of discernible emotion. All it held, was a kind of cruel confidence, the kind that would make even the best trained warrior think twice.

"You may call me... Omega."

Tatewaki smiled knowingly. "Ah! Omega! The last symbol in the Latin alphabet, often used to represent the end, or final. Is that your purpose? To be the end? Haha! Do not make me laugh." Kuno unsheathed his bokken and waved it confidently at the intruder. "Leave now these premises before I make you leave."

The man in black seemed to smile even more darkly as he lowered his head. "Hehe... you intend to make me leave? It is to laugh." He then proceeded to laugh aloud in that same inine laughter that had lured the teen into the library to begin with.

"PREPARE YOURSELF, VILLEN! HAA!!" Kuno charged the man with his bokken held above his head, ready to come down on the man's head.

Snatch

The man barely moved as Kuno was suspended in the air for a moment. His attack had been stopped by a single hand, and now he was being held there by that one hand on his sword!

The hood of his cloak hiding his features, the man spoke as he pulled something from inside his cloak. "This is no place to hold a fight. So many books and each one of them helpless. So why don't we take this fight elsewhere? HYAA!" As the man let Kuno's sword go, he threw something at his feet, spreading a fog throughout the room as his voice echoed around him. "Find me in your largest, emptiest room. And I speak not of your head. AAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Tatewaki Kuno was angry. He had been caught by surprise, but he would not make that mistake again.

On the Kuno estate, there were several rooms that counted as 'big'. But being of samurai lineage, they held a lot of importance in their practice-space.

Rushing to the gymnasium, Kuno prepared himself to face the coward. 'If he doesn't show up here, then that coward truly doesn't deserve my time...'

Stopping in the large underground room, he looked about. The lights were on, which meant that someone had turned them on, since it was late at night by now and there was no sunlight to speak of.

Walking cautiously into the middle of the room, he looked around. Seeing no one, he called out. "Come out, coward, and face me!"

A voice came from behind him. "Oh? You're challenging me? I thought that was my job? Of course, I suppose this isn't a dojo, so I accept your challenge."

Turning around, Kuno swung his bokken in a vicious crescent, hitting nothing. "Where?"

"Here. And you had probably better start trying harder, or you'll never be able to win." The man wasn't moving. Even his cloak stayed motionless around him, despite that he had obviously moved very quickly to evade Kuno's blade-swing.

"Villain, I shall punish you. ON GUARD!!" Moving with force and speed, Kuno swung his weapon around his side and straight up through where the man had been only a moment before.

"Haha... faster, Kuno."

"You... do you think that I have truly tried yet? HA!" Turning around, he began striking with his sword, following the man's movements with each hit.

"STRIKE!" - -- "STRIKE!" -- /- "STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!" - /- "STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!" / "STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!"

(A/N: A little text art. .)

As each hit missed, a small part of the room was struck, sending plaster into the air, clouding the vision of the Kuno boy. As he looked around for his target, he had his mouth and nose covered with his sleeve. 'Ugh, perhaps I shouldn't have done that...'

The man seemed unaffected, however, as he walked up behind Kuno. "Ah, air-pressure eh? Not too bad. I suppose the purpose of a sword _is_ to give range where there is little, but you've found a way to extend it farther!" Coming up behind Kuno, he patted him on the shoulders, each shoulder twice. "Not bad!"

As he did this, Kuno noticed something. With the first hit, his hands each opened of their own volition, and with the second they clamped themselves closed. "What!? I cannot extend my fingers!"

"Haha! Just a little pressure point. Now I will give you a moment to try to retrieve your sword. Go ahead, try."

Kuno looked down at his sword, which lay unceremoniously beside his feet. 'This... could be a problem.' Being of strong will, he tried to command his fingers to open.

After some experimentation, he found that he could not make them open, even if he used his teeth.

Looking back down at his sword, he tried another approach. Reaching down with both hands, he managed to pick up the sword at the handle between his two fists. "Ha! There! What do you say to that!?"

Kuno was put into shock when the man simply grabbed the sword, and slipped it right out of his grip. "I say, that I want to see what you can do with your fists?" Throwing the wooden weapon behind him, the man stood at ready, still wearing that tell-tale smirk.

Kuno scoffed, throwing his nose into the air. "The use of fists is a method for barbarians! Not the samurai!"

The man chuckled lightly. "Well then, barbarian, you had better get started?"

"Augh! Villain!" Moving with a new speed, Kuno pursued his target, anger present on his features.

At first, each strike missed badly, as he was still trying to use his sword. But with time, he began to adjust his aim to accommodate for the missing weapon.

"HAHA!! That's right! Keep going, boy! And maybe I'll let you know what it's like to acutally _hit_ me!"

Kuno heard the comment and stopped. "I do not accept free hits, I _take_ my hits! HYAA!"

As Kuno charged him, the man in black frowned.

THWAM

In response to the hit, Kuno cringed while trying to massage his hand. The man slowly put his arm down, having blocked the elder Kuno sibling's hit.

"Wearing armor beneath your cloak? Such a low blow!"

The man didn't change his expression as he walked toward Kuno. "No, Kuno. I am not wearing any armor. Normal cloth only. What you felt was pure muscle. The reason it hurt for you, is that you are not used to hitting bare-handed, are you?"

Kuno continued to hold his throbbing hand, but remained silent for once.

"But... the truth is, that despite your downfalls, you could indeed be useful." The man put one hand to his chin. "Yesss..."

The anger in Kuno's voice took a lower tone as suspicion creeped into his mind. "What is this?"

"Haha! Tell me, Kuno. How would you like to know the true nature of the red-haired, pig-tailed girl?"

Kuno was so surprised by the mention of his pig-tailed goddess, that he was suddenly shaking the man by the shoulders, and completely disregarded the fact that the pressure point had worn off. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF HER!? TELL ME!"

Ranma suddenly fell off his bed, awakening in a cold sweat. "Oh man, what was that about?"

Looking up at the edge of the bed, he shrugged. He felt more at home on the floor anyway.

Yawning, he rolled over and went back to sleep, completely without a pillow or blanket.

Not too soon, he was asleep deeply enough to not notice the sound of a lock being picked.

That morning

I woke up to the sound of an alarm going off right beside me. Reaching over, I lightly touched the snooze button in order to end the annoying noise.

There was barely a stir from anyone else in the room. Akane was simply too heavy a sleeper, and the others... I dunno. I guess they just didn't want to wake up either.

Jet lag sucks.

Of course, if there was anyone still left asleep after all the alarms had gone off, that peace was fairly well shattered when Ranma suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"AAAHHH!!! KODACHI! WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

"Oh Ranma darling! Your manly allure is just too much for me! I must have come here in my sleep!"

"AH! There's a girl on the floor with Ranma!"

"Way to go Ranma!"

"What do you think you're doing Ranma!? Akane's your fiancee!"

Akane stretched and yawned upon hearing the noise (which, by the way, was more than a floor away). I too managed to crawl out of bed as the others simply looked scared and confused.

Noticing their looks, I smirked. "Hey, just be glad his father isn't up there. Or else they'd be..." CRASH "out the window by now... nevermind."

Akane looked out the fifth story window to see the two Saotome's falling next to the building along with a window's worth of glass.

About a split-second later, reports of a large man breaking into Ranma's room and kicking him out the window overshadowed the screaming that had ensued only moments before.

That is, until Kodachi went after them. "AH! That crazy chick just jumped out the window!"

SHWWWIRRRR!!

Looking out the window, I noted a rope around Kodachi's waist, and a pair of roller skates on her feet. She was using the roller-skates to roll against the building, and the rope slowed her descent. "Hmm, not too bad. She thought ahead."

Akane waved it off. "Yeah, whatever. Look, I'm gonna get a bath, or shower, or whatever it is they do here."

Most of the class was somewhat surprised at what was, to the rest of us, a morning routine. But something that most didn't realize was that this was Hawaii, Honolulu in fact, and definitely not Nerima, where the people are a little more tolerant of the weird. And when the people at the hotel's front desk were treated to the sight of a girl in a wet, white sleeveless shirt dragging an equally wet, and unconsious panda, they really didn't know what to think. And when Kodachi came in only moments after, carrying a ribbon that she could use like a chain and wearing nothing but her leotard, a number of the older managers turned in for the day, and some of the younger ones decided to go somewhere else entirely.

"Oh Ranma!?" Kodachi's voice could be heard through the different floors, supposedly coming from Ranma's apartment/room again. "YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!" Strangely enough, Kodachi still hadn't made the connection between Ranma's two forms.

Ranma's frantic voice could also be heard trying to get the crazy one to go away. "ACK! Kodachi! Let me get dressed for Kami's sake!"

"What are you doing in Ranma darling's room!? I'll kill you!"

Hinako's youthful voice also disturbed the silence of the morning. "You! Miss Kuno? I'll drain your delinquent energy! Eight treasures of the deadly 5 yen piece!" FSHLOOOM

I then realized why Nabiki was so adament about having Principal Kuno send Hinako along. Hers was the only attack that wouldn't cause property damage (other than the return), and yet would stop the fights.

Ranma's tired voice came a few seconds later. "Uh... thanks teach."

Hinako's grown voice came next along with a dragging sound. "From now on, Saotome, do try to wait until you're out of the building to start fighting."

"Haha, I'll try."

After a minute or so, the noise had been absent for long enough for everyone to simply start their morning routine (sped up in an attempt to get out of the building).

One of the other girls, one with shoulder-long brown hair, turned to me with worry on her face. "Is it like that often in the morning?"

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty much every morning. You'll get used to it." I then pulled my head out of the suitcase I had nearly buried myself in. "But then again, I hope they decide to start taking it outside from now on. And I wonder how long it'll take to replace that window? Hmm, oh well." As I went about 'business as usual', some of the others were starting to get nervous.

But, being Nerimans, and from Furinkan no less, the students eventually got over it. Of course, it was mostly the adults that had the hardest time dealing with it.

Waiting for Akane to finish in the restroom, I eventually got bored with going through what little stuff I had. So, instead, I turned to the other two in the room. "So what's your names? I'm Lila Dilas."

"We know." It made me feel kinda special to be recognized in stereo. But it was still kinda disconcerting.

"Um, okay. Then... I don't know your names?"

The girl with shoulder-length brown hair answered first. "Kiina Tyouna. Class E."

The other girl, whos hair was done in a big 'rabbit-tail' as I had come to calling it (flattened somewhat from the night of sleep) answered next. "Higumi Tsuna."

Akane came out of the bathroom rubbing her hair dry. Just now noticing the two girls opposite me, she blinked in what looked like recognition. "Hey, aren't you two in the Tea Ceremony club?"

The first girl smiled. "Ha! Why yes! How astute of you to notice!"

The second girl first nodded her head, and then glared at the two of us before walking into the bathroom. "And we would appreciate it if you could keep your freinds away from our ceremonies?" Shut

It took me a moment to realize that I had missed my chance at the restroom. "Oh..." Plop So, I just relaxed on the bed. They couldn't take _that_ long, could they?

Two hours later

I had pulled out my wooden ball about ten minutes into the wait, and by seven o'clock, I had gotten to the point to where I had started making it glow slightly. It wasn't taking monumental amounts of concentration on my part, but since I had nothing else to think about, it went just a bit faster.

And within the next hour, I had gotten it to glow with quite a bit more vigor. It now looked like some kind of wooden crystal-ball.

"Hey blue. Your turn."

Nodding, I kept most of my attention on the ball I had balanced on the tip of my finger. Keeping it lit, I did a balancing act as I gathered my things and went into the small room.

As compared to the two 'club members', it only took me about twenty minutes to be completely ready and out of the restroom.

Of course, by that time, everyone else was already gone. "Sigh I wonder where Akane is..." As I left the room, I started the wooden ball balancing and glowing on my finger again.

Downstairs the hotel was still serving their breakfast. I wasn't too hungry, so I just caught myself an orange and looked around to see if there was anyone I knew still sticking around.

Not seeing anyone there, I figured that my little two-hour wait had held me up a bit too long. 'I'm gonna hafta figure something out for that...'

Deciding to just go outside and enjoy the day, I... went outside. (A/N: Was that really that hard to figure out? O.o'')

Every once in a while I looked up at the skyline, expecting to see someone flying through the air for one reason or another.

All around me there were people milling about and talking amongst each other. But I didn't pay any attention to that, I was more worried about finding someone with whom I could talk or spend some time.

It took me a while, but I eventually found someone. It was Miss Hinako, who had somehow managed to get herself an ice-cream cone. "Ah! Miss Hinako! Hey!"

"Mm?" When she looked my way, I could tell that she had ice-cream all over her mouth.

Jogging over to her, I smiled as I greeted her. "Hi there!"

"Hi Miss Dilas! What are you doing? Lick"

"Um, yeah. Say, have you seen Ranma anywhere?"

"No. Lick Say, what's that?" Hinako pointed at the wooden ball I still had balanced on one finger.

"Oh, this? I made it. Wanna see?"

"Yeah!"

I smiled as I handed her the ball.

Holding it in one hand, she looked at it suspiciously. Lick She then tried to balance it on one finger, which failed miserably.

She then tried to balance it on three fingers, and frowned as she had immense trouble with that.

Losing interest, she gave it back to me. "I'm sorry, were you looking for someone?"

"Uh... yeah. Have you seen Ranma? Or maybe Akane or Shampoo?"

Hinako shook her head no as she licked her Ice-cream again.

Dropping my head, I tried to come up with some kind of ploy to see if I couldn't think of a way to locate them.

"Ah! Then do you know where Kodachi is?"

"Oh! Miss Kuno?" I nodded my head, expecting an answer in the positive. "No, sorry!"

"Ugh..." Balancing the ball on my pinkie, I scratched the side of my face in frustration and thought. "Sigh Oh well. Thanks anyway."

"Lick You're welcome! Goodbye!" Miss Hinako walked off cheerfully heading for... somewhere. Where exactly I really didn't think to find out.

Looking around, I was at a loss as to where I should go. 'Great, I'm stuck in the middle of a really small island and I'm lost...' In Nerima I knew all of the places that Ranma and his hanger-ons would most likely be found, but here I was totally lost.

"Well, I may as well just walk around for a while..." So I... started walking around aimlessly.

An hour later I had explored nearly half of the entire island, both the beaches and inland areas. Yet I had not seen head nor tail of Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, or even Kodachi.

I did find a few attractions I thought might be interesting (tourist traps), and noted them for later.

When I strolled into a small little coffee shop with glass windows (complete with fabricated view of the beach), I saw Nabiki sitting at one of the tables with some sheets of paper in front of her and a walkie-talkie beside it.

Thinking for a moment or so I came to the (correct) conclusion that Nabiki was using the walkie-talkie, along with her nameless and faceless informants to keep track of the Saotome Crew.

I didn't even get the chance to fully open my mouth before she spoke. "2000 yen."

"... uh?"

"Just that much more you'll owe me, should I write you down?"

I was confused, but not surprisingly I had enough mindpower left to connect money to information. "Uh, sure?"

"You'll find Akane at the Ice-Cream bar not 400 meters south of the hotel. I'll charge you later."

"Um, okay, thanks. I'll see you later?"

"Whatever."

"[Squaqk (A/N: That's supposed to be a Walkie-Talkie sound. --') SuperGhost 7 to Ice Queen. Come in Ice Queen. Squaqk]"

"Click Ice Queen here, ten seconds SuperGhost 7. Click" She then shoo'd me away and went back to what she was doing.

Strangely enough, I managed to miss the fact that Nabiki had somehow hired enough of our classmates (as most of her class was still back at Furinkan) to have at least seven people tracking us.

Sighing, I simply let it go and ran off to where Nabiki said Akane would be. Considering that the buildings weren't an obstacle for me it didn't take long. And I likely lost anyone that would have most likely been tailing me.

"Akane!"

"Huh? Lila! I've been waiting for you!"

Akane was sitting at the counter with a half-eaten banana split and a chocolate stain on the collar of her shirt. She was there with a couple of friends of hers, Yuka and Sayuri I believe. "You've been sitting here that whole time?"

Akane took another bite of her ice cream and swallowed. "Well, not exactly _here,_ here. But around, yeah."

I sighed in response, "You know, it would be a whole lot easier to find you guys if you weren't hiding your auras..."

"[Can I get you something?]" The man behind the counter got my attention before Akane could think of a response.

Akane, for some reason, started digging around in her handbag (something that took Kasumi a long while to convince her to drag around with her). Shrugging, I looked up at the menu. "[Uh, how about a Blizzard(tm) with the M&M's(tm)? Extra Large.]" (BTW, this is in an outdoors Dairy Queen(tm).)

The man looked confused for a moment, but shrugged whatever it was off and went to making me a Blizzard treat. (A/N: Yum! .)

"Lila?" Akane stopped me in mid money-pull (that little thing where you search around for the right amount).

"What?"

Akane was looking me in the eye with a half-angry expression. _"How come you didn't tell me you knew English!?"_

"I, uh...? Well, it never really came up?"

"And just when did you figure this out!?"

I thought back for a moment as I put the rest of my cash away. "Um, I think it took about a week to figure it out. It came so natural that I didn't notice right away. Kinda like when I figured out that I could speak Japanese too!"

One of the other girls leaned over to the other one (I think it was Yuka leaning over to Sayuri) and whispered in her ear. "I think she's just weird..."

"Yup!" I suprised the both of them by leaning my arms over their shoulders and smiling brightly. "I'm about as weird as they come! Haha! But then, aren't we all? We are from Nerima after all."

Akane tapped me on the shoulder. "Technically, you aren't from Nerima."

I shrugged as I took a seat next to Akane. "Hey, I _wanted_ to live there. So I've got my own problems!"

The other three simultaneously nodded their heads.

"[$12.24]"

I handed the cash over, pocketed my change, and took the cup in both hands. (It was big!) I took the spoon provided me and proceeded to dig in.

"Hey, is that any good?" I didn't even bother to swallow as I nodded my head the affirmative. "Can I try?"

In response I took her spoon, wiped it off, and dug out a decent sized spoonful, making sure to get some of the m&m's(tm) in with it. She took the spoon, put the morsel into her mouth, and smiled. "Yup! Pretty good!"

"Can I try?" "Me too!"

The lot of us were blissfully unaware that hearing explosions weren't normal for Hawaii.

There was another in that building (under the roof with no walls) who took no notice of the explosions going off in the distance. It was a girl. She was wearing typical clothing for an American Tourist, which was odd only because she was from Japan.

She had bright blue eyes and raven black hair that lay straight against her head in a back-swooping cut. Her curious eyes were dead-set on watching the four girls at the counter.

She didn't notice when the eyes of the general people of the building went from her table to the west. She really didn't care whether anyone noticed how much ice-cream she had.

She had in front of her four gallons total of different kinds of ice-cream, from toffee-almond with thick syrup to several varieties of swirls and shakes. There in front of her was enough ice-cream to feed an army (of sailor senshi), and so far she was the only one to show up. This alone was enough to warrant the stares she was recieving.

But she didn't mind. No, instead, she dug-in like no one was watching. Every scoop of her spoon was awarded with large portions of whatever she stuck it into. It would seem, to most people, that any normal person would have immense trouble simply fitting those giant-sized portions into their mouth; but she managed it as if it was perfectly normal, like it was the only way to eat it. Those things that were in cups didn't fare much better, as they were simply gulped down as if nothing more than glasses of water.

As she watched the girl SuperGhost 4 wondered two things: 1. Where she was putting it all. 2. And why she insisted upon waging a silent war on the helpless confections before her.

SuperGhost 4 got up from her seat to find a place excessively out of ear-shot, tracking the oddly-hungry girl with her eyes.

Once satisfied that no one would hear her, she pulled out her military-style walkie talkie. "SuperGhost 4 to Ice Queen. Come in Ice Queen."

"[Go ahead SuperGhost 4.]"

"No problems nor changes with Angry One. However, found new target of possible note..." SuperGhost 4 (A/N: Who will remain nameless.) began shaking, and it showed in her voice. "It was horrible! She ate the entire table!! Uh, I mean! Not the table, it's just!"

"[What are you talking about SuperGhost 4?]"

SuperGhost 4 took a moment to regain her composure. When she was sure that she had calmed her breathing, she continued, "There is a girl in the shop that recently consumed nearly four gallons of frozen ice cream in under forty seconds. I recommend we tag her."

A response didn't come for a while, as it seemed a bit like Ice Queen (Nabiki) was thinking about something. "[Alright. You tag that girl and SuperGhost 5 will tag Red Eyes and Angry One. Will alert all RoboCops to changes.]"

"Confirmed." SuperGhost sighed as she started back to the ice cream shop. Nabiki had thought rather far ahead. In order to allieviate as many problems with local authorities as possible she had warned them far ahead of time and set up a system to keep the two forces working together.

Nabiki's team kept tabs on the possible dangers out of sheer skill and experience, while the authorities had the legal grounds to do something if it came down to it.

Ranko ducked behind a tree, "MOUSSE!! HOW THE HECK DID YOU GET HERE!?"

"Love knows no bounds Ranma!" Mousse threw a series of claws on chains at Ranko.

"RED HAIRED DEVIL!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY RANMA!?"

Ranko turned her head around to see Kodachi coming down on her with a gymnast's club, which revealed a sword coming out the end.

Thinking fast, Ranko jumped just high enough to be over the path of Mousse's claws. She then used her foot to push the bottom of the newly-severed tree trunk so that it would strike Mousse in the chest. As a kind of bonus that one action caused the top of the tree, which was laden with entangling branches and long leaves, to land right where Kodachi was coming down on her.

'Kodachi'll be out for a second or two, but it'll take more than that to stop Mousse.'

_"Stupid Duck Boy!!! Leave Shampoo's Ranma alone!!!"_

"Shampoo!! I do this out of love for you!"

"_MY_ Ranma wouldn't think twice about going _anywhere_ with a barbarian like you!"

"Take that back! Dear Shampoo is not a barbarian! She is the most beautiful woman in the world!!"

As the others fought among each other, Ranko managed to crawl away unnoticed. 'I should probably stop them, but I'll bet that if Mousse's here, that means that' Bonk Bonk 'the old ghoul's here too.'

"I thank you, shrivelled witch, for assisting me in vanquishing my foe. However, I do believe that I could have handled the barbarian on my own."

Cologne narrowed her eyes at the braggart girl. She had stopped Shampoo and Mousse only out of concern for the locals, but that Kuno girl was a danger as well, in her own way. Why, she could very well singlehandedly cause a plague that would infect the entire island if not kept in check!

Cologne did notice Ranma-chan crawling away, still dripping with saltwater from when she had been _trying_ to relax in the ocean, but decided to let her have her vacation. "Miss Kuno, I need to speak with you..."

"Eh? What could you have to speak with me of?"

"I have... a proposition."

Ranko heard this and made a mental note to become extra wary of anything suspicious. She _did_ notice that Cologne hadn't attacked her, and decided to confront her about it later, when she wasn't standing so near to Kodachi.

End Chapter 16

Sorry people. I had to cut this chapter short. Technically, this isn't actually all that short, but it (to me) just doesn't feel quite like a full chapter. So if you want to say it, the next chapter will be the finish to this chapter. (If I ever get it done.) There was something I really wanted to get to in this chapter, but it'll have to wait till the next update.

Also, I've been having some trouble managing my time. You see, I've been playing Diablo II almost obsessively over the past couple of weeks. I've been trying to catch up with where I should be in online play, but so far I've been running against walls. I'm going somewhere, but not very far. T.T

Not that I haven't been thinking about writing. Heck, I have now developed the entire idea, story, and combat system for Diablo III and even StarCraft II, as well as started three additional stories since I last updated.

Gawd, it sucks having such a short attention span... U.U

Well, anyway, I gotta go.

Alex Ultra: Creator of Eternal Realm

LATER


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